Hey everybody, I'm back. Here comes Chapter Two!

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Chapter Two : Secret Keeping

Zuko's eyes fluttered open slowly, viewing the white room around him. This was his third day in bed- his body was finally beginning to feel normal again, not as if it had battled the entire sea. He began to sit up, but found that there was a weight against his chest. Glancing down, he noticed that the girl, the insane one, Kaori, had her head resting against his abdomen. Her eyes were closed gently and her soft breathing escaped through slightly parted lips.

Zuko froze, staring at her. She looked beautiful, anyone had to admit that. There was such a wild look about her, yet it was beautiful at the same time. When awake, she was crazy, saying random things and moving from place to place in the blink of an eye but when asleep… It was like she was graceful, peaceful… It was a completely different girl laying against him. Except, she was laying against him, and honestly, one of the first girls to even lay against him before. It was unnerving, Zuko wasn't quite sure what to do. He could feel his cheeks heating up and he swallowed hard. Okay, maybe she could just stay there, after all, she wasn't doing anything wrong and she felt…well, comfortable. Zuko stared at her, thinking in the back of his mind that this was what it felt to have someone close to you… Besides, when she started waking up, he'd just pretend to be asleep and she'd never know that he knew she had laid against him.

But his throat felt like sandpaper. He glanced over at the table next to him, spotting his glass of water. He stretched out his arm, careful not to move to much. His fingertips brushed the glass and he stretched a little further, trying to grab the glass, but managed only to push it further away. He reached out as far as he could and the glass toppled over the edge of the table, shattering against the floor.

Kaori sat up with startled eyes, glancing around the room, her body tense as if waiting for someone to strike. The fear in her eyes drifted away as she noticed the glass on the floor. She stood up quickly, going over to it. "Geez," she laughed, "If you wanted water, you should have just asked…"

She brushed the pieces into her hand, placing them on the table. Opening a drawer, she slid the shards of glass into a thin bag. She held up the bag, looking at it from all angles, and then reached down, tearing off a long strip of her dress. She used the strip of cloth to tie the top of the bag closed and then put it in the drawer, closing it and looking content.

Zuko raised an eyebrow. "What did you do that for?" he asked, curious.

Kaori looked at him as if the answer was obvious. "I like to hang the bag from the ceiling so that when the sun hits it, rainbows will be scattered across the room,"

He nodded slowly, supposing that this was a reasonable answer…maybe. Kaori laughed at his expression and came over to him, grabbing his elbow. "Alright well, it's time for you to get up,"

Zuko frowned at her, trying to tug his arm away. "I can decide when I can move and when I can't,"

Kaori shook her head, pulling on him a tad harder. "Nope, it's time to get up, so get up, get up, get up, the world awaits you!,"

Zuko shrugged out of her grip, glaring at her. "You're not my doctor, I will decide for myself,"

Kaori put her hands on her hips, returning his glare. "I'm telling you to get out of bed. Now get out before I make you get out,"

She stared at him, her eyes burning into him and finally Zuko let out a groan, relenting. He sat up, took a deep breath, and swung his feet over the side of the bed. Kaori grinned and came over to him, taking his arm, but he pulled away from her.

"I can do it…" he murmured, standing up slowly. His head only spun the slightest and after a moment the dizziness was gone.

Kaori beamed at him. "See, I knew you could do it!" She laughed loudly. "I'm a good doctor, aren't I?"

Zuko didn't answer, instead he walked forward a few steps, testing his balance. He seemed to be in working order, which was a good thing. The last thing he wanted was to be stuck in that bed for any longer.

"Alright, Teken, lets take a walk now," Kaori said, jumping in front of him.

Zuko frowned. "A walk? I don't want to take a walk,"

Kaori rolled her eyes, walking towards the door. She glanced back over her shoulder and winked at him with a wide grin. "I know you're going to follow me, Teken, you won't be able to help it," And then she was out the door.

Zuko stood in the middle of the room, clenching his fists at his side. Who did this girl think she was? He was Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation; even with his honor gone, he still demanded respect and fear from those who knew him. And here she was, bossing him around…but here on this island, he wasn't Prince Zuko- he wasn't even Zuko. He was Teken- a boy who was washed up on the shore. It was strange that Kaori hadn't asked him why he had been at sea, but Zuko wasn't questioning anything about this girl. The answers would be something insane, he knew.

After a moment, his hands relaxed and he glanced at the door. Then he promptly left the room and followed after Kaori.

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Kaori had made it her mission to show Zuko everything in the village- and by everything, she certainly meant everything. He was introduced to practically everyone that lived there- the large number of 100 villagers. He saw every store and every house- Kaori even made him stand underneath a shaded porch that she and some villagers had worked on and tell her how sturdy he thought it was. She introduced him to the members of the council, all who regarded him with curious looks and long and stern glances at Kaori- which she pointedly ignored, but they all seemed friendly enough.

The people of the quaint village were all friendly and polite to Teken, with a guarded sort of openness. They shook his hand and didn't spare a second glance at the scar on his face. Many of the villagers had their own scars- the people here all had their quirks. He was just another one of these people who had found their way to this land of misfits.

As they walked away from an older woman, her face filled with the lines of age, Kaori leaned over to Zuko and whispered, "Careful around Lady Missi…she's a gossiper…she'll love you one moment and be telling people you wrestled a whole tribe of penguins the next…So don't do anything worth talking about!" She giggled and pulled him along.

A young girl of about seven ran up to them, her scruffy hair bouncing and her eyes bright. "Kaori!" she exclaimed. "Who's this!?"

Kaori laughed and ruffled the girl's hair. "Sori, this is Teken. Teken, this is Sori,"

The girl looked Zuko over and nodded, then she looked at Kaori solemnly. "Kaori, is this your boyfriend cause you know if you have a boyfriend they'll-"

Kaori reached out and slapped a hand to the girl's mouth, pushing her along while she laughed. "I'll just have to dance around everywhere and catch me some fish!" she exclaimed. "Bye Sori, say hi to your mother for me!" She pushed the girl, who looked rather shocked, along and turned to Zuko with a big smile.

"What was she going to say?" Zuko asked her, watching the girl skip away.

Kaori laughed loudly- but there was a strain to her laugh. "Oh, nothing, she's just a little girl, what does she know? Nothing, nada, zip, zadda, nope, nothing at all, zip, zadda-"

Zuko stopped her. "I get it," he said simply.

With a giggle, Kaori glanced at him. "Teken, I want to show you something,"

Zuko frowned a little. His body was returning to normal but it was still slow and he was tiring quickly. "Kaori-" he began, but she held up a hand.

"Teken, please, it'll be the last thing and I really want you to see it,"

The look in her eyes was so intense that he found his will relenting. "Fine," he muttered, rewarded with a giant smile from her. She was always smiling. She had the beauty of a water bender and the lightness of a…well, of an air bender. Kaori skipped forward, turning around to motion for him to follow after her, which he did after rolling his eyes and sighing a little. She pushed past a group of large bushes and motioned for him to follow her into the deep of the forest that surrounded the small village.

Zuko watched her disappeared and then began to follow her. Why he did, he had no idea. He needed to get out of his place but as long as he was here… Well, why not.

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I hope you enjoyed that chapter! More is on the way! I love being able to really sit down and write this. It's nice. Takes away some of the stress from college. And life.