A/N: MISS ME GUYS?! 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! I wanted to get back to basics here, reminding everyone that for all of his violence, Naruto is still the same loveable old sod in this story. Humour and action abound in the following pages, starting with the quote and journal entry!
Hope you like the chapter! Prepare to laugh! Lots of loose ends get wrapped up in this chappy...and it'll be good!
"A handful of benders against an entire Fire Nation armada...you're right. That is sad. SAD FOR YOU! Ah, I never get tired of that line...what? Katara, don't give me that look-OW! That hurt, 'ttebayo!"
~(An ill-chosen line by Uzumaki Naruto.)
Love is Blind
I never want to rule a city, ever again, after this.
EVER!
Do you have any idea just how much PAPERWORK is required to keep Ba Sing Se afloat, hmm? Quite a bit, as it turns out. For a day. For an entire week? A! FREAKING! TOOOON! Running, scrambling, clamoring to keep order, balancing on a knife's edge between savagery and simplicity! That's with shadow clones! Preserving order-and sanity! As if there were such a thing in the Earth Kingdom! Within these seven savage, sinister days I found myself hard pressed to do just that. Keep the peace, without resorting to my tried-and-true method of violence.
These were no Fire Nation thugs that I could simply kill and be done with; these were innocents. Refugees from the war. Husbands, wives, children, all. They weren't soldiers either; I couldn't bark at them and expect a swift response other than fear. Though the Dai Li did respond well to that...
Of course they did! You scared the stones right out of them! whem you melted Long Feng! Couldn'ta done it better myself!
Lovely. It looks like someone decided to add their opinion, there. TOPH! I know its you!
...I have no idea who you're talking about.
Anywho, its the second day, now, as of this paragraph. Noble holdouts have required purging, rioting is now surpressed, gold distributed from the coffers of the king's treasury, food brought to those who did not have it, blankets and warm clothing, too. These were but a few of my tasks. The rest of it was more mundane mindless, bureaucraptic bullshit. Yes, I know I spelled bureaucratic wrong. It was intentional.
Ha! Good one, blondie!
Toph, if you're reading this now, stop scribbling in my journal! We are NOT keeping the King's bear! I don't care how awesome you think it is! Alright, that's enough of an entry for today...AND I MEAN IT, TOPH! I'm not going to giv eyou back your sight if you keep mucking up my field notes! The men need those!
Not gonna happen! And who said I wanted to see, huh?! I happen to like being blind, thank-you-very-much!
Aaargh!
'Tis now the fifth day and things are...actuallly looking up. Toph is STILL meddling in my journal...and stealing my breeches, now but otherwise reserves her pranks for me alone. I believe she's bored. Thankfully, June and Nyala seem content enough to marshal the troops-which is lucky for me, given the fact that I'm paying her Nyla's weight in gold! ...Oops. Probably forgot to mention the army bit. That was the fourth day. Haven't had a chance to mention it 'till now; was busy wiping out that smuggling ring.
The King actually had the good sense to concede me an army. I didn't even have to threaten him-I just showed him the sad state of his city. Poor sod. Sheltered all his life, never leaving the palace and having no idea of what was happening. With no one but me to guard him he was promptly pelted by rotten fruit the moment we entered the lower ring. And I let them. In hindsight, I should have expected it. Oh, and there's another note...I'll let this one slide.
Yeah, it was funny!
Knowing or not, I couldn't let him rule for long once these crimes became clear. Major concessions have been made despite the fact-involving him surrendering the throne to a candidate of my choosing-less taxes, reparations to the families of those he unwittingly gave to the Dai Li to be brainwashed. It was a pleasure purging their ranks. Now, I'll have a vanguard of loyal and willing Dai Li agents- fifty strong!- leading our forces when we march on the Fire Nation this winter, and on Ozai. Can't wait to see the flaming asshole's face!
Do I get the first shot? You promised me the first shot!
I said no such thing-gah, getting distracted again. The sixth day has come and gone and still no word from the King as to whether he will accept my demand to step down. If he refuses, I'll have to force the matter. I've chosen someone to take his place., but have elected not to tell her..and she might not be pleased with the news.
Other, more recent events have transpired.
Met a very odd man in the middle ring of the city today, who seemed to be quite skilled at inventing...things. Bombs, gadgets, even some strange flying contraption called a blimp, utilizing something he calls an engine, to give it lift. I firebent a bit for him, and it actually got a few feet off the ground! Blimps! An army, by air! I declared the man master engineer of Ba Sing Se immediately, in one fell swoop. Marrick something-or-other, I believe his name. Mad as a hatter, but he's brilliant. Then he was on about something called tanks...the hell is a tank?
Eh, doesn't matter. If we can perfect these contraptions of his, well, it'll make the winter war that much easier. My clones have been escorting refugees across the lake and some through the Serpent's Pass...though, I don't think that route's a wise idea any longer. The sea monster there is...problemetic. Perhaps I could tame it? Bah, semantics.
So as I was saying my-our-little army is coming along quite splendidly; more and more flock to Ba Sing Se every day. We have a standing force of over twenty thousand men and women now, at the cost of withdrawing troops from some of the other settlements and risking bandits. Ozai would have to be a fool not to notice what's going on. But maybe he is. I've killed three spies already, and found none since. Curious thing, though. I though I saw a batallion the other day massing at the border. They fled before I could pelt them with the elements until they yielded.
I can only hope that the Fire Nation does not retaliate before we are ready, lest I am forced tfdsfasdsaafafddsvsdlfothendsdsafjlasbelievesuchafaldjadaNARUTOSUCKSEGGS!
(Unintelligible gibberish follows)
Godamnit, Toph! Now that is just RUDE! You've ruined my journal! Again! Is this about the pie? This is about the pie, isn't it? You can't prank me and not expect me to do the same! Besides, it had blueberries in it! Your favorite! You LIKE blueberries!
Not talking to you, blondie!
*Sigh*It never ends, does it? Women will be women, even in a different land. Ah, but I digress AFTER all this madness finally ends and the King steps down, I intend to pay a visit to the North Pole. My scouts report a massive armada of Fire Nations vessels, the bulk of which is already in the North itself. No word from Aang or even Azula in the last week, either. Troubling. It doesn't make any sense; I killed Zhao. He's the only fool crazy enough to attempt this. Otherwise, you'd have to be an honourbound imbecile. Unless...
Nah. My luck can't be that shitty...
...right?
As fate would have it, his luck was indeed, that shitty.
"Soooooo," Naruto began with a slow, angry drawl as he looked up from his notes. "Let me get this straight, lad." His hand rose slowly; not in a blow, as the man might've feared, but to pinch the brow of his nose as he addressed the poor messenger who'd just been unfortunate enough to enter his tent and present him with the bad news. "Let me get this straight, lad." he repeated the words a second time for the boy's benefit as much as his own-all the while biting back a small smile whilst the youth quivered before him and tried not to soil his breeches.
"You're saying, that the king is saying..." Unsteepling his hands, he reose from his desk and leaned forward across the war table, overshadowing the maps and notes sprawled there. "...that I basically need to sod off."
The messenger squeaked; the closest thing to an affirmative he'd be getting. Naruto sighed. "Tell him he has one day to change his mind. Then I'll make him step down." When the scribe didn't immediately depart, he shot the boy a bemused look. "Something you wanted to say?"
"Suuuuuuuure, because, after spending seven days here, he's still stubborn as a rock?!" The boy flinched as the Avatar of the Gods bolted upright from his chair, nearly knocking the war-table off kilter. "The stupid sod thinks he can just ignore me, does he?! Lets see how he likes a few pranks, then!" At length, he exhaled heavily. His hand rose in dismissal.
"Get out of here, kid."
He didn't have to tell him twice; the poor lad skittered backwards like a drunken spider.
Really, the boy looked like he was barely out of his teenage years and as such, it was probably perfectly acceptable to most. The Earth King-Kuei, his mind vomitted out the name-wasn't willing to surrender a soldier to him to deliver the message, and with good reason. The standing army of Ba Sing Se answered to the Avatar of the Gods now, not the sheltered man-child on the throne. In only a week, he'd achieved a strange balance of equality and order here in the city once the rioting and looting died out.
There were no dusters anymore, no commoners, no nobles, either. It was simply a single city, surrounded by one wall, provided by all. But what then, once this was finished? Once the war was ended? Rustication in the wilds, to mediate charcoal burners disputes? Oh, how that hurt! There was no much yet unachieved! The thought stung at him, pricking his pride, but, he ignored it and remained steadfast. It would not do to dwell upon such things. There was still the likely seige in the North to be dealt with, as well as the impending invasion of the Fire Nation itself. So much to do, so much to do, so much to do...
Naruto lingered a moment longer in his tent, contemplating, before he finally made his decision. He'd put off going to the North for too long now; it was time to marshal his men and move on. The king would be dealt by a clone he suppposed, or if that failed, he could always confront the man himself. It was a surprisingly easy thing, delegating duties to the dopplegangers whilst he worked to mastermind the invasion. Supplies would no doubt be needed for the troops marching by land, and boats for those going by sea...ugh. This was going to prove a long winter...
Peeling back the flap, he stepped out to check on his people.
His guards nodded their greeting at his abrupt departure, inclining their heads with a deferential "M'lord!" as he tramped past. The sounds of combat reached his ears from afar, and in any other vein, it might've worried him. Now he knew his soldiers were merely training, the nonbenders preparing themselves as best they could. A sea of tents lay sprawlled out beneath the hill he'd erected; his vision swimming within a swathe of green and cyan, busy men and women flitting to and fro, carrying orders, arms, ratifying requistions and the like. Tension hung thick in the air, threatening to strangle anyone who paused long enough to consider the enormity of the task laid before them.
Some, refugees new to the city, talked fretfully amongst themselves. They'd been streaming in from the south ever since he'd dealt with that hellish ferry-woman. Others, soldiers and benders, those with the will and strength to fight, vented their frustrations the only way the knew how. With violence. Brutal, beautiful, gratuitous violence.
He took a moment to watch a pair of them.
Two men were squaring off against each other in the sparring ring, one wielding a massive two-handed sabre-and the other a sword and shield. Cole and Sten, if he recalled their names properly. As Naruto looked on they continued to spar, railing against one another. The wooden practice greatsword struck Cole's shield with a resounding "BANG!" It barely jolted the younger man-who'd long since learnt how to absorb such heavy blows and come out swinging before the follow-through was done. His longsword rapped his superior smartly across the side of his left knee, elicting an annoyed grunt from the big fellow. Naruto snickered.
"Keep your guard up, Sten." he remarked at the larger man. "Wouldn't do to have someone hack off your leg!"
That got him another grunt. Sten didn't talk much.
"Right." he chuckled, continuing on. "So glad we had this conversation..."
He passed the barracks-little more than a series of stone walls and a roof erected for those stationed outside the city-and entered into the refugee camps, winding his way amongst the the throng of people as he strode towards his destination; the train station that would lead him back into the city. Ordinarily he would've simply bent his way up the wall, but he wanted to let the king stew. Let him realize what was coming and cringe in fear, stew in his cowardice, and maybe then he'd be a bit more amenable to his demands. For now, it would behoov him to make sure these people had the food and water they neded-
"My lord Avatar! Avatar Naruto!"
Naruto stopped short before a campfire, his ears pricking as a voice called him by name. A stranger was hastening in his direction, and at the sight of him his hand instinctively went for one of the dirks hidden within the folds of his robe. Another assassin? When will Ozai learn? His mind clamored for action, ire momentarily overtaking him. As it turned out, it his anxiety was for naught. The stranger was in fact a man, a man with a very pregnant woman waddling a few steps behind him. Their clothes had seen better days, but they looked mostly unharmed, save for a few scrapes. They looked every part the refugees.
Naruto felt his eyes widen slightly. And apparently, they know me...
If the Fire Nation had sent these two to silence him in the wee hours of the morning, they weren't doing a very good job of it. Loud and noisy, they'd drawn the attention of half the camp. Still, he kept one hand at the ready, just in case this was some elaborate ploy to take his life. It wouldn't be the first, after all.
However, upon reaching him the exhausted man all but flung himself on the ground and tried to kiss his feet. An awkward silence followed, one in which Naruto gawped at him, befuddled. That same confusion became to dismay when the woman tried to do the same. He wouldn't have it.
"What are you doing?!" he exclaimed at her, momentarily aghast. "Get up!" Before she could respond he took her by the hand and hoisting her to her feet. "I said get up! Get off the ground! You're in no condition to be doing this, so don't."
"I...thank you, my lord." The woman sputtered a bit, looking as though she might faint then and there. Naruto groaned quietly and shook her praise off.
"Please, I would very much appreciate it if you didn't pass out. I've had enough of that for one lifetime. Who are you?" this last part he asked of her husband.
"My name is Tahn, sir." the man said, pausing just long enough to glance at the woman standing at his side. "This is my wife, Ying." He bowed hurriedly once more as Naruto's ice blue orbs locked on him. "We...We are forever in our debt!" Under his baffled stare, the man drew himself up. "I-I brought my tool, sir. If you're willing, I can get started on improving the men's arms and armor right away!"
Naruto felt his frown deepen. Arms? Armor? What in blazes was he talking about?
"Though that sounds quite nice, but...have we met?"
The pair exchanged a glance.
"Then you don't remember us?"
"Enlighten me." he answered flatly.
And so they did.
They told him, reminded, that he had met them just north of the Serpent's Pass only a few days ago and subsuquently led them and a band of refugees through. Ah. One by one, the pieces slotted into place in his mind like slivers of fine glass,. That'd been before he'd found and taken the ferrywoman to task for refusing people passage across the lake. One of the last trips, too, and as a result, there had been casualities. Poor Ying had lost her sister to the beast. Pity, that, but the rest had made it through the pass safely thanks to the aid of the doppleganger. Naruto sighed.
"Ah, right, right," he feigned a laugh. "Sorry I forogt, I just get so busy, sometimes!" It was true. He'd dispatched so many clones to the outlying villages that the memories seemed to blur together, making it difficult to pick out something so minute as guard duty. Something to look into, at any rate.
As it turned out Tahn was indeed a smith, and a skilled one at that. Although at the completion of their tale, he looked like he was winding up to bow again. Naruto managed to fend him off with a wise word and instead directed him to see the quartermaster and get his family settled in.
"This city is quite safe." he huffed when they questioned him further, "And for Kami's sake, don't name your daughter after me! Try a nice name. Something like...Hope."
Another thanks, and they were on their way.
"Spirits, bless you." Ying murmurred one last time. "We'll never forget you, Avatar."
"My thanks."
Naruto let them go with a noncomitall grunt, inwardly thinking. Considering. A family. Hmmm...I wonder... He'd hadn't thought about it for the longest time now; but, looking upon them now, he suddenly found himself wistful. How long had it been? He was centuries into immortality, and he knew well the pangs that came with having-and losing-a loved one. But to start a family, to watch little, blue-eyed children-or amber eyed, in the case of Azula-running by his feet, laughing, giggling and squealing...what would it be like, to experience that again, however fleeting?
He had a sudden vision of a dark-haired little girl with startling green eyes, her features a blend of Toph's and his own. She peered up at him, arms outstretched in a silent demand to be held. Lin. The name leapt out at him from across space and time in the blink of an eye, staggering him, overcoming with feeling.
Urk.
He felt his heart lurch at the thought. Shaking it off, he continued his trek across the camp, headed once more to the rails. Where was June? He needed to speak with her, but-
Surprisingly, Toph was waiting for him when he reached the cars. He spotted her early; leaning against a pile of crates, her blank eyes staring listlessly ahead. She didn't need to look at him to convey her discontent-he could feel the diespleasure radiating her in a physical prescence. A mountainside about to give way, an unexpected avalanche, readying itself to destroy all that stood before it. She surely must've "seen" him coming, because her head turned a fraction a fraction of an inch, sending her dark tresses bobbing from the motion.
"Well, look who it is." she huffed, pushing herself off the wooden stack. "Mr. Busybody. You done coddling up to everyone? Done gloating?" Naruto felt his cheeks heat in indignation at the reminder.
"Are you still mad about that prank?"
"You embarssed me!" the words were a hiss. "In front of everyone!"
"That's just how its done." he replied. "How pranks work, remember?"
"That's just how its done?" she threw the words back at him, snarling, reminded of the words her father had always said to her. "No, it isn't!" In a flash she was before him, her finger jabbing into his chest with enough force to bruis. I didn't make a fool of you in front of June, or the army, or the King! I respected your dignity! But you...YOU!" Her alabaster cheeks turned pink with furious embarassment. You went and plastered me in public! That is now how its done! I hate things like that!
"Toph, I-
"Forget it! I'm done talking to you." her voice turned, flat and unyielding, those hard, pale eyes jerking away. "Get out of here."
"Nope." he replied,
Then, before she could stop him, he stepped forward and kissed her. Her world went whoozy. His lips like satin, hands like iron cradling her waist, holding her tight, but not too tight.
"You...you bastard...
"I'll let you prank me as many times as you want. Just...please...don't be angry at me."
"I hate you." she muttered, but the words lacked rancour.
"Didn't you already say that?" Naruto clucked his tongue at Toph, smiling slightly as he stared down at the masses assembled before them. "But hey, I've done way worse than this." It was true; he'd raised more than the occasional field army back in the day. By comparison, this force was small.
Ba Sing Se was coming along splendidly; especially when one considered the rammifications of his actions.
Of course, it hadn't taken Naruto long to discover the ways in which Toph was beautiful. That devilish, knowing smirk, the way her eyes twinkled when she was planning mischief. The infectious laugh, the one that lit up her whole face and shook her body with mirth. The sheer physicality of her, her complete and total comfort with her own body and her willingness to use it during combat; her assurance in her own strength despite that odd blindness, a handicap that should've crippled most, but only made her stronger.
That voice, of course, smoke roiling through grass, that swore such dreadful, toe-curling things whenever she was absolutely livid, or when he tried to work or think or teach or do anything, really, that did not involve Toph and some sort of chaos, preferably her own. Those hands, slightly smaller than his own, with their smooth knuckles and nails, fingers strong, and calloused but as capable of being gentle as they were of leaving bruises.
"So about those benders.
She accepted no apologies, and offered none.
The girl snorted in a very unladylike way. "I might have heard a word or two about it. Congratulations. It's sounds like we need all the benders we can get!"
June was livid. Furious.
She was going to be the next queen! No! Absolutely not! No way in hell!
"Naruto!"
"I intended to make you Queen, yes." he'd said it as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"You didn't tell me!"
"Uh...yes, I did?"
Words failed her as she stamped into the courtyard. Thought failed her. There was somehow a positively demonic alliance between the Naruto and Toph to put her on the throne, and damnitall it was working. Who could have foreseen it? June certainly had not. Someone like her? Taking the place of the noblest of nobles? She could barely even conceive of it. For that matter, Naruto had only mentioned the matter in passing whilst they were drinking only three days hence: she'd thought he was joking! Naruto had not been joking. He'd told the truth, meant every word, but she hadn't believed him. Until now.
Now, as she stalked through the city, ignoring the servile glances sent her way; determined that this was all bollocks, that she would not have a part of this!
Out through the west door, and then only a few steps across a courtyard to the Gate. A kitchenmaid at the was fond of feeding the pigeons in the courtyard, and there were always clouds of them. Though..how quiet it was today! Everyone must be busy, preparing for the King to abdicate. The thought made her scowl. She, of course, would go out through the King's Gate, where the royal coach would await her. Perhaps Naruto could be reasoned with, perhaps she could talk to him and make him see sense. Maybe slip out of the walls and take the train.
Where was the guard? Lazy ass! There was always supposed be a guard here. He was gone, probably to scrounge something from the kitchens, which were not too far from here.
June pushed the door open, and the gloom of the stone corridors gave way to a burst of sunshine. Briefly blinded, she, paused, squinting.
The blade stone struck her from behind without warning, slamming into her unprotected back and burying itself to the hilt. Then everything went sideways. She was falling, she was helpless, her senses squeezed and drained like a fruit ripe for plucking. The stone steps were coming up to meet her face…
From a great distance, she felt the strong hands seizing her; hands encased in leather and steel. The men were silhouettes, dark shadows against the light, faceless in their cloaks. The only sounds were the startled pigeons cooing and fluttering in the courtyard, and the scrape of boots on stone steps, and low muttered commands.
"Put that poison away! We won't need it anymore."
June knew she must fight these men; she must beat them back and escape, warn the others, warn…warn Naruto that he was in danger; but her hands would not move and her tongue was sluggish, unable to form words. Only an incoherent "Unhh…Unhh…Unhh" issued from her numbed lips.
"Shut her up!"
The man's sword pommel rose and fell. A thunderclap of pain slammed into June's skull. White light flashed across her eyes. She slumped, held in remorseless arms, her skull fractured, vaguely aware of the slow, wet trickle down her temple. She gazed curiously at the tracks in the gravel her heels made as they dragged her away. Dimly, she recognized the feautres of one, different, unique amidst the others. Fire Nation. Not Earth Kingdom. Oh no. Oh dear sweet lord of heaven and earth no, this wasn't happening...
No, not like this…not like this…spirits, where are they taking me…
A/N: WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT?! Aaand there you have it! The focus was on almost everyone this chapter, although June 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.
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 NEXT CHAPTER! But for now...enjoy!
(Preivew)
The Northern tribe was in chaos.
Naruto fought like a madman, scrambling to keep everyone alive. Even then, he wasn't fast enough. He ripped flaming fireballs from the sky and flung them back from whence they came; summoned up great storms to smash the ships against one another and dash them upon walls of ice. He sundered hulls with a touch, metalbending great gaping orifices in them and sending their armored crews plummeting to a watery grave. There was no time to think, blink, to breathe, there was only the fight.
He fought and fought and fought, but maker, they just kept coming! For evey one he slew three more took its place; for every cruiser crushed there was another surging forward to breach the Northern Wall. They were nearing the sixth hour now, he and Azula, and even the dread power of the Avatar State could only sustain him so long. The full moon was rising, which promised retribution from the Waterbenders, but out here in the fleet, it meant nothing more than a light for him to fight by.
He supposed he could take some solace in the fact that Aang and the others were fighting just as hard back in the city; especially Sokka. He had someone to fight for now, after all, certainly, since Yue's fiance had met that unfortunate "accident" back there on the front lines...
"You're impossible." Azula's voice echoed in his head. "I can't believe you did something like that!"
"Hey, the kid deserves to be happy. 'Sides, that little prick deserved to die-
"Avatar Naruto!"
Uzumaki paused in thought, his hand still locked firmly around a soldier's throat. A savage wrench sent the man to the afterlife. He turned slowly, regarding the one who had spoken. A familiar face. Zhao's face. No, not quite the same person. Different. Younger. Without those ugly sideburns. Releasing the man-made-corpse into the sea Naruto turned, opening his hand for a hot blast of fire. The man did not flinch at the sudden surge; instead he caught it, his fingers curling around the inferno with contemptuous ease. Snuffing it out.
At his side, Azula hissed. A real look of fear flashed in her eyes.
"Monkey feathers...why is he here?!"
The newcomer said nothing at his approach, boots clanking hollowly against the metal deck. He spared a curious glance at the former princess, dismssing her with a simple, "Interesting," before his burning amber orbs locked upon Naruto once more.
"So you're the Avatar." it was not a question. "No wonder you destroyed my father. Ah, but where are my manners. Admiral Lee," here he gave a gracious bow, his dark hair flashing in the light of the flames. There was something...something about him, Naruto thought. Something different. Strange. Wrong. As if he were touched, somehow. That smile made him shudder; it spoke of a keen mind, of limitless ambition, and both the will and the means by which to use both.
"I see you've chosen your side, Lady Azula."
The firebender huffed, trying to bluster her way out of those piercing orbs. "That's none of your concern."
"Perhaps." Lee conceded the point.
"You don't sound particularly upset."
"I'm not, really." he replied. "But as his only heir, honor dictates that I avenge him."
"And just how do you plan to do that?"
Admiral Lee smiled, the picture of serenity.
"On my honor, and in the name of my deceased father, I challenge you to an Agni Kai." he declared loudly. "A firebending duel! No Avatar state, no other elements. What say you?" There was a cool flame in his voice, a subtle, frozen anger that immediately set the blond on edge. This was no base bender. This was a master. Greater perhaps, even than Zhao.
"If you win, my men shall withdraw from the North without further conflict. If I win...
...then we surrender." Icey realization dawned on Naruto. Lee just might be a better Firebender than him. Such a challenge was weighed in his favour. And yet-
"I accept."
Azula balked.
"What?!"
Hope you enjoyed! R&R! =D