AN: I actually had a semi-plot for this one for a while so that's why it's written so fast. That and I only have one exam left. That's right – vacation on Friday! Unfortunately all the prompts I haven't gotten to by then will only come a bit later as I'm going away for three weeks so I won't have a computer or Internet. So you guys get a break from my drivel =P

A little bit of advertisement: I am the proud co-creator of a community here on FF that hordes a whole lot of Hurt!Zuko fics. So anybody looking for more, you can find the link on my profile. And any suggestions are so, so welcome. Thank you =]

Disclaimer: Still not mine. Artistic liberty taken with… well, basically everything in this one.

Game

It was always fun and games until somebody got hurt.

That fundamental lesson – one he had learnt at an early age – had undergone a slight change in his eleventh year of living. And even though neither the change nor the actual lesson was very big or even hugely important in comparison to the rest of his life Zuko would remember it for the rest of his life.

It happened on a normal day in the heat of summer in the Fire Nation. He'd been sprawled across his bed with a book his uncle had given him in his hands. It was rather boring, in his opinion, but Uncle Iroh had insisted that the knowledge it held would make him a better ruler one day. And so Zuko read, forehead furrowed as he tried to soak up every word. His peace was shattered when a sword made from wood landed square across his head. Helping he shot upright at once and turned to glare at his door, rubbing the sore spot. Azula smirked at his discomfort and leaned against his doorpost in smug superiority.

"Come play." It was more a demand then a request.

He scowled, tossed the sword at her feet and lay down again. "No."

"Come on! Mai and Ty Lee aren't here and I'm bored."

"I'm not playing with you, Azula," Zuko growled back.

"Please?" She changed tactics at once, her voice turning as sweet as a ripe Moon Peace. "Come on, Zuzu."

"Don't call me that!"

She ignored him and his glares and advanced in skipping movements. "Come on. You know Mom would have wanted you to."

And there were the magic words. Zuko winced and turned his scowl to his bedspread. The youngest sibling waited patiently, knowing he would give in. Zuko would do anything to please their mother, even when she was dead. With a half-snarl half-sigh Zuko shut the book and got up. Azula smirked and handed him the sword, swinging a similar one over her own shoulder.

"What are we playing?" Zuko asked her sullenly as he followed her outside to the garden.

"Dragon hunting," she replied with enthusiasm.

"We need three people to play that," Zuko scoffed, beginning to regret his decision.

"I know, dummy! I told him he had to play with us."

She jerked her thumb to a rather nervous-looking servant who was waiting for them outside in the sunlight. Azula smiled at the man – an action that wasn't very reassuring – and then began swinging her sword in an almost hungry expectancy. Zuko noticed that light glittered off the toy weapon, as though she'd stuck things on it to make it shiny. He rolled his eyes. Girls.

"Now this game is simple," his sister told the servant sweetly. "We get to be two great Firebenders out to gain our rightful glory. And you," she smirked. "You get to be the dragon."

"P…Princess I don't think I underst-"

Azula grinned wider and leant forward. "Start running," she whispered.

The servant, wisely, did as he was told. The young princess let out a trilling little laugh as the servant sped away into the garden. Then she turned her bright eyes over to her brother.

"He's going to try and hide in the orchard," she said with a small smirk. "You go the west side and make a lot of noise so he gets spooked out. Then I'll take care of him."

Zuko frowned. "Why do you get to be in charge and the one to slay the dragon?"

"Because, Zuzu, I started the game. And because I'm better than you."

Before he could deny this she was already off, her toy sword clutched ready in her hands.

"This is why I hate playing with you!" he yelled at her retreating back. "Stupid girls," he mumbled to himself as he stomped towards the orchard.

As he got closer to the small group of trees he automatically slowed down and began to tread lighter. His uncle had been training him a lot since his mother left and he was getting very good at being silent. Slowly he sifted through the trees, ears straining for any noise. For a long while there was nothing but the sound of rustling leaves soon wafted down to him. Instantly he darted towards the tree the sound had come from, banging his sword against the trunks of each tree he passed to make as much noise as possible. As Azula had predicted the servant sprang from his hiding place and ran, trying to make a break for it. Zuko was hot on his heels, his sword at the ready. And for the first time the young prince felt the thrill of the hunt set into his bones. This was actually fun.

Just as the servant made it out of the trees and onto flat ground where he could use his longer legs to escape the perusing prince Azula appeared seemingly out of nowhere. With a small cry she swung her sword heavily at the man's head. It was a mixture of reflex and luck that the poor man managed to avoid her blow. He skidded to a stop and began to retreat to the side, Azula swinging at him from in front and Zuko rushing in from behind.

"Tackle him!" Azula ordered, and for once Zuko obeyed without question.

The servant was caught off guard and so he went down easily under the prince's leap. Zuko dug his knee into the man's back as he pinned his shoulders down with one arm and pointed the wooden sword at the back of the man's neck. The servant was panting and looking wide-eyed and scared.

"Please, sire…" he whispered to Zuko, looking panicked and unsure of what was actually happening.

Zuko's gut twisted with his conscience but the adrenalin thrilling through him canceled it out and he just pressed down harder. Azula sauntered up, every inch of her glowing triumph and smug victory.

"Well. Looks like we caught ourselves a dragon." Then she frowned, glaring at the pinned man in disgust. "That was pathetically easy. And here I thought you'd be a better dragon than Ty Lee or Mai." She sighed long-sufferingly. "I guess I just overestimated you."

The man beneath Zuko let out a small whimper and Zuko couldn't help but think that the man was pathetically weak. Sure they were both royalty but they were still just children. And yet here he was, a grown man, acting as though his little sister was the scariest thing he'd ever encountered.

"Now," Azula purred. "How are we going to slay you, dragon?"

Zuko was about to complain that he was bored – the chase was over and the actual 'slaying' was too theatrical for his liking – when he noticed Azula's sword glinting again as she twirled it while contemplating. And now that he was closer he could see that she hadn't stuck things on the wood to make it shiny. She had embedded real, razor sharp bits of glass into its pretend blade. Suddenly the servant's reaction didn't seem so pathetic any more.

"Okay," he said quickly, loosening his grip on the man under him. "We caught him. Round over. Now he knows what to do. So this time-"

"We haven't slain him yet," Azula interrupted with an ugly look sent in his direction. "What's the point of going dragon hunting if you can't hunt the dragon properly?"

"But this is where the game usually ends when we play with Mai and Ty Lee." He was starting to get a feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach.

"Well, Zuko, if you were less dense you would see that this isn't Mai or Ty Lee. This is just a worthless little servant who needs to obey us and wouldn't dream of telling on us."

His little sister smiled down at the cowering man in a way that made her eyes narrow and the hairs on Zuko's neck begin to rise. Azula always lies, he reminded himself as the girl advanced. She's bluffing. She just wants to scare him. She's not really going to do anything.

"Move back," she snapped at her brother.

When Zuko didn't move she growled and shoved him, hard, on the shoulder. Unprepared he rocked backwards and fell off of the servant. The man began to rise but Azula's foot stopped his ascent.

"Please, Princess! Please I-"

"Silence! Dragons don't speak."

Azula always lies. She's just playing with him. It's just a game. She wouldn't really…

The young princess raised her glass-studded sword and swiped it towards the servant at her feet. The man let out a howl as the wood and glass met their mark on his shoulder. Azula grinned wider and prepared to strike the begging man again.

"Azula!" Zuko darted up and grabbed her arm, stopping her action. "Stop it!"

"He's just a servant." She looked at him as though he was insane.

"That doesn't mean we get to hurt him for no reason!" The older Firebender pushed her back so that the servant was no longer trapped under her foot.

The look Azula gave him greatly resembled the look his father gave him each time he proved, once again, how much weaker he was than his sister. "You've been hanging around Uncle too much. You've grown even weaker."

The servant took the opportunity to scramble to his feet and run off, clutching his shoulder and seemingly praying. Azula snatched her arm free and glared at her brother with venom.

"Now look. You made us lose our dragon. Now the game is ruined." A spark of excitement returned to her eyes. "Unless… Yes." She smiled that smile of hers that made him feel more afraid than anything else. "Because you caused us to lose our dragon, you will take his place."

"No." Zuko tried to ignore the feeling of dread that was now building in his gut. "I'm not playing any more, Azula."

"Who said you had a choice?"

"Azula! I'm not going to play any more!"

"I'm going to slay the last dragon." She didn't seem to be listening at all. "It's going to be me, Firelord Azula."

"I'm not-"

Before he could do more than flinch the wooden sword had swept across his shoulder. The class cut into his skin making him yelp in surprise and pain. Almost automatically he raised his hand to the wound. His fingers came back sticky with red blood. He looked to his sister, half expecting to see some guilt or repentance on her face. All he got was her smile.

"I'd start running if I were you."

She took another swing at him, eyes alight with excitement. Zuko stumbled back, turned, and started towards the palace. He had run only a few steps when his pride made him stop. He was not going to run like a scared little girl from his own sister. Wheeling back he ducked to avoid her blow and then flung himself on the ground so he could pick up his own fallen sword. He blocked her next blow and managed to push her away so he could get up. He was suddenly angry; enraged by her attack and her attitude. But as he went onto the offensive pain suddenly flared though his fingers. With a gasp he dropped his burning wooden sword.

"Dragons don't have swords," Azula told him, her face dark and angry. "All they have is fire."

And suddenly Zuko was scared. He would have been able to win against her if they had fought with swords. He was good with swordplay while Azula barely knew a thing and his bigger size would have been to his advantage as well. But in a Firebending battle he was as good as dead; there was no way he was ready to face his prodigy of a sister. And both of them knew it.

Instinct took over and Zuko once again launched his body towards the palace. His pathway was almost instantly blocked by roaring flames. Using words his mother would not have approved of he changed course and dove back into the trees. He could hear Azula whooping behind him.

"Come on, Zuzu. Haven't you learned from my old quarry's mistakes? The trees won't save you."

Zuko ignored her and focused on creeping silently between the trunks. He knew climbing the tree would not help at all and so he focused on using them as camouflage until he could make a clean break for safety. His shoulder stung uncomfortably as he moved and he vowed – silently – to get his sister back for it later when she was just Azula again.

"I can smell your fear, Zuko. I know where you are."

Zuko flinched – her voice had been much to close for comfort. Gritting his teeth he headed to the east opening of the little orchard as silently as he possibly could. But he was so busy listening out for his sister that he did not see the branch until it cracked under his foot.

"I can hear you, Zuko! I'm coming for you!"

Zuko changed his direction slightly, leaving the trodden path that many journeys through the trees had created. He wove between tree branches as quickly and quietly as he could, praying his sister would not somehow sense his new direction. He saw the end of the trees and picked up his pace, knowing that out in the open he was a sitting duck. If he was fast enough, however, he could reach the bushes on the other side before Azula even noticed –

His leg connected with the rock with a dull thud that was much too loud in his strained ears. Before he could comprehend what was happening he was falling, landing heavily in a wrong position. And then there was pain: shooting up from his leg in bursts that were quite astounding. He bit on his fist to stop himself from crying out and tried to bring his injured limb closer so he could support it. He wasn't able to move it far; one inch of movement left him feeling like his leg was being burned.

"I'm coming closer, dragon!"

His sister's voice brought him back to his current predicament. He was now sprawled right out in the open; a sitting duck for Azula's wrath. Trying to ignore the pain in his shoulder and the agony in his leg Zuko used both hands to push himself to his uninjured leg. He felt himself swaying, the world tilting sickeningly as pain washed over him in waves. Blinking rapidly until everything stood still again Zuko then looked desperately over to the bushes that would be his salvation. Cautiously but quickly he then attempted to put a little bit of weight on his injured leg.

Pain spasmed up the offended limb causing him to bite back a moan and clutch for anything to keep him upright. The only things his hands found were the row of tall potted plants that fringed the trees. They were runners attached to thin beams of wood so they could grow upwards. They were also completely covered in thorns. Hearing the sound of a girl's quiet laughter Zuko grit his teeth and reached for the next bit of bush. The thorns pierced into his palms but, compared to the pain in his leg, it was nothing. Leaning almost all his weight on the bending limbs of wood he managed to take a little step forward.

He knew it would never be enough to get him away on time. But he would not lie down and let her find him.

Slowly he began half dragging himself forward, biting his tongue until it bled too so he would not cry out. He reached the end of the row of thorny plants and clung on, feeling the thorns embed themselves in him. He counted the steps he needed to take to reach the cover of the bushes. Five. All he needed were five steps.

Steeling himself and gritting his teeth he let go of his support with one hand and tried to take a step out towards the bushes. He managed one very halting one, his injured leg screaming in agony at the brief burden of his weight that it had had to bear. Trying hard not to cry Zuko let go with his other hand and clenched it into a fist. The sensation of warm liquid ran over his battered fingers as he inched his injured leg forward, ready to take another minuscule step towards his sanctuary.

Azula's laughter right behind him vanquished all his hope. She had seen him, watched his pathetic attempts and was now highly amused by them. He was doomed and yet still he tried to struggle on. A hand grabbed his shoulder and forced his body weight onto his injured leg. The limb gave out at once, sending him to the ground where he curled up and moaned in agony. His moan turned into a choked scream when his sister stepped down on his injured leg. Zuko tried to glare up at her but the pain screaming from his leg must have showed on his face because Azula just smirked.

"I will be the one to slay the last dragon," she said sweetly, raising her sword.

"What on earth is happening out here?"

If Zuko had been able to move he would have crawled over and kissed his uncle's feet. Azula's weight instantly disappeared from his leg and some of the stars glittering before his eyes vanished. He raised his head as far as it would go to find Iroh a few meters away, face shocked and eyes roaming over his pale, bloody nephew on the ground.

"We were playing a game, Uncle," Azula promptly said, her face sweet and innocent. "Right, Zuko?"

Without his consent his mouth automatically formed the words. "Right. We were… playing a game."

"I'm bored now anyway," Azula sighed, shouldering her sword so that the glass made a tinkling sound against her metal shoulder pads. "I'm going to find something else to do."

Without a backwards glance she skipped off, leaving Zuko able to relax and succumb to the pain and fear that then seemed so irrational and stupid. Iroh's hands were abruptly on him, wiping away the blood from his shoulder and helping him to sit up. Zuko mumbled some excuse about his leg that made Iroh sigh, try and lighten the mood with a bad joke and then help his nephew to his feet. Seeing Zuko pale even more the retired general then half carried the boy back to the palace, a sense of dread about his niece awakening in his gut.

Zuko, too, was having a revelation. As his uncle helped him inside and as he grit his teeth until his jaw hurt so he wouldn't cry out in pain the old lesson he had been taught underwent a permanent change in his brain.

It was always fun and games until somebody got hurt. In Azula's eyes, that was when the pure pleasure began.