I did not open my eyes the second I awoke. At first I believed I was dead, but the feel of cold metal and the smell of brimstone told me otherwise. I tried to move one hand to my head to see if I was still bleeding, but it was heavily shackled, as were my feet. I slowly opened one eye at a time. That was a mistake, since I got a splitting headache instantly. I lay still, listening intently to find out where I was. Footsteps resounded in the hallways, and men were shouting orders to each other. The smell of fire was everywhere. I closed my eyes; it was much easier to hear without visual distraction. There- the faint sounds of waves lapping against a metal hull. I was on a Fire Nation ship, no doubt belonging to Zuko. My headache was almost gone, so I slowly sat up and looked around. It was a prison cell lit with a single torch. A light draft of cold air drifted beneath the door, the only source of oxygen.
Then I realized my weapons were missing. A total of six shuriken, two short knives, and one katana. All were gone. A passing guard slid open a small window on the door and shouted, "Sir! The prisoner is awake." Another set of footsteps approached, and the heavy steel door opened a second later. Zuko walked in, flanked by two masked guards. His normal eye narrowed in anger.
"Good. Commander Zhao, begin the interrogation. We need to find out who this man is and who he works for." I smiled beneath my face mask. He had no idea how wrong he was. Each guard unlocked the cuffs on my hands and feet, holding both of my hands behind my back. As they began to forcefully lead me out of the room, following Zuko, I kicked their feet out from beneath them, wrenching my hands from their grip. Zuko heard the commotion, and immediately prepared to fight. We traded blows for a minute or so until several more guards came running, forming a circle around me. All were prepared to blast me with fire at any moment.
"You're surrounded," said one of them. Thank you, Captain Obvious. I'm a ninja, not an idiot. "There's no escape."
'I don't need to escape,' I thought, taking a fighting stance. They all attacked instantaneously. I jumped into the air to dodge the flames and kicked one soldier in the head, rendering him unconscious. I slammed two others against the wall. One guard tried to tackle me, but I ducked, making him crash into another guard. Zuko and Zhao were the only ones left.
"You fight well," said the young prince, hands again glowing with orange flames.
"Don't waste your breath on compliments, Zuko. This man will not live to enjoy them," said Zhao, shooting another blast of fire at me. It was easy to dodge. Again I smirked, though they could not see it since only my eyes were visible. Both of them attacked with simultaneous fire blasts, but I jumped into the air and landed behind them. I knocked the commander unconscious and was about to strike Zuko, but he turned and caught my arm mid-swing. He attempted to bend my arm backwards, but I flipped over, causing him to do the same. I landed on my feet. He didn't.
Zuko stood, holding one hand behind his head, glaring at me. A gust of cold air swept him off his feet, though I held my ground. A young boy with a large blue arrow on his head stood behind the prince, wielding an intricate staff. Another boy and a girl- presumably siblings- joined him moments later.
"Aang, we need to get out of here!" said the girl.
"Yeah, more guards are probably on their way already," said her brother. The Airbender turned around and spoke to them.
"What about the other prisoner? Maybe we should help-" I didn't stay to hear the rest of his sentence. I had to find my weapons, and soon. Ninjas make their own weapons, and while it would be possible to make more, I wasn't looking forward to the task. I was especially fond of the katana, a gift I had received some time ago. It was irreplaceable.
I found the armory, and disposed of the two soldiers guarding it. The door was unlocked, and the room was dark. This did not bother me. I looked around, seeing several spears, swords, and other weaponry. The shuriken and knives were on the floor in a corner, and I swiftly grabbed them. But the katana was not there.
"Looking for this?" Zuko stood behind me, holding my sword as if to attack me with it. I threw one shuriken at his hand, forcing him to drop the katana in pain. I grabbed it from the floor and held it to his throat, staring straight into his eyes. The left one was burned beyond recognition, but the right was golden and glowing with fiery anger.
I hesitated. And it was that hesitation the nearly cost me my life, or at least my identity. Fire swept across my forehead, singeing the top layer of my black mask. A few pale threads of hair got loose, but nothing escaped Zuko's watchful eyes.
"You're...you're a girl?" he said in shock. He froze, and I took my chance. I leapt forward with the katana ready. He ducked swiftly, and the sword cut off the last inch of his hair. I couldn't stop, however, and ended up stabbing the young girl I had seen earlier. Why she stood behind him, I don't know. The young boy and her brother arrived in seconds. This was disastrous, so I did the only thing I could do. I swiftly removed the sword from her frail body, picked her up, and began running. The Airbender caught up with me in seconds, sitting on a sphere of spinning air, and demanded that I return his friend. I tripped him with the blunt side of the katana and continued on.
We were outside in another thirty seconds. Unfortunately, the ship had moved out to sea, and the shore was off in the distance. I jumped from the ship and dove into the water, trying to keep the girl's head above the waves. Aang and the girl's brother were not far behind, now riding on a large flying bison. The animal swept close to the water, and Aang created a large wave from underneath us. It lifted us onto the bison's saddle, and the girl began coughing up water. Her brother held her head up, waiting until she stopped coughing. I took one step toward her to help, and Aang held the end of the staff at my throat in an instant.
"Don't go near my friend!" he threatened. I cleared my throat to speak, something I did not do often.
"I'm not going to hurt her. I just want to help," I said quietly. He glared at me.
"Why should I trust you? You're the one who hurt her in the first place!"
"It was an accident. I was after Zuko. Please let me help her. I can treat her wound." He didn't move. Sighing, I removed all my weapons and put them at his feet. He seemed satisfied and stepped aside. I stepped over to her, but her brother would not let me near her.
"Stay away from my sister!"
"If you don't let me treat her, the break will never heal." He acted as though he didn't hear me. I slowly unwrapped the black cloth from my head, tying it into a loop. I examined her wound carefully. Her collarbone was broken, but it did not seem serious. Her brother was so shocked to see my face that he said nothing as I set the bone. She had fallen unconscious, but it would not last.
"When she wakes up she will be in pain." I tore off a small piece of cloth to tie my hair back.
"You're a girl!" her brother said, still surprised.
"Yes. You're very observant. Now we need to get back to shore so I can get some things for her. Preferably in a forest." Aang shook his head and sat down next to the girl. I sat as well.
"Not until you tell us who you are."
"I'm sorry, but I cannot do that. It is against the code of my people. If any of them find out what I have done, I will be severely punished if not killed."
"Can you at least tell us your name?"
"I am called Z." Aang pointed to himself.
"I'm Aang, that's Sokka, and that's Katara."
"It's nice to meet you. Hopefully, after all this is over, you will not see me again."
"Why? You seem like a nice person," said Aang. I looked away. That was the exact opposite of what I was.
"You are wrong. My purpose is to kill."
"What kind of person are you?" said Sokka, almost disgusted. I glanced at the sun, which was now high in the sky. Ninjas wouldn't be prowling around until nightfall, and we were on the back of a flying bison hovering over the ocean. Maybe the Order wouldn't find out...
"If I tell you anything about myself, you must swear not to tell anyone. You cannot speak of it except amongst yourselves, and never at night or in any villages. This will make sense in a moment. Do you promise?" Both of the boys nodded.
"Very well then. I am a ninja." Surprisingly, they did not say anything, so I continued. "I am not completely human. I am a creature of the darkness, as all of us are. This is why you never see us during the day. We avoid cities and towns for the obvious reason."
"What reason is that?" asked Sokka. Aang and I stared at him like he was some kind of idiot.
"Do you honestly think I would blend in looking like this?"
"You could wear a funny hat." I glared at him, and he shut up.
"All ninjas are part of the International Order of Ninjas. They give us missions to complete. Failure is unacceptable. This is the first time in my life that I have not fulfilled my task."
"How old are you?" asked Aang."
"Sixteen."
"How many people have you killed?" I looked away.
"I have lost count." There was silence between us. I should have expected it, but the reality of it felt strange just the same.
"Why don't you quit? Killing people is horrible," said Sokka. I shook my head.
"It's not that simple. Being a ninja is not some kind of job. It's what I am. Telling me to quit is like telling Aang to stop being the Avatar."
"How did you know I'm the Avatar?" Aang said in an even tone.
"I know no other Airbender who controls water as well." He smiled, then his face showed confusion.
"What do you mean 'other Airbender'?" I smirked.
"How else could I run so fast?" He jumped about thirty feet into the air, landing back on Appa with a huge grin.
"You're an Airbender! I can't believe it! I thought I was the only one left! Did you know Monk Gyatso?"
"My mentor's friend. I have not seen him since the raid. My friend, Cyra, said the Fire Nation killed him. This is why I was to eliminate Zuko."
"So, if you're an Airbender, why isn't there an arrow on your head?"
"One must be exposed to daylight at a young age for the arrow to show itself. I do have arrows on my hands and feet, though," I said, unwrapping another length of cloth from my hand. There was a pale blue arrow on the back of it.
"Hey, what's that?" asked Sokka, pointing to my hand. At first I half-expected that he meant the arrow, but then I realized he was talking about my ring. It was a small silver trinket holding a teardrop-shaped, blood red ruby nestled between two round diamonds of similar size.
"It is a ring all ninjas have. If I were ever to be parted with it, I would no longer be considered a ninja by the Order. I would still be one, of course, but they would not recognize me as one. In all probability, they would kill me."
"It seems like there's a lot that can get you killed," said Aang. "You don't seem afraid of it." I sighed.
"Death is a part of life. I suppose I have become accustomed to it after eliminating so many people." That didn't sound right to them, because they shrank back in horror. I really needed to work on my people skills. I rewrapped the cloth around my hand, then glanced off into the distance. The shore was closer now, and the sun was beginning to set.
"I will gather some ingredients for a special tea for Katara. It will be night soon, which means there will be others nearby. You must promise that you will not say anything to her if she wakes up." They nodded again. The darkening forest was beneath us now.
"I will rejoin you later," I said with a swift nod. I jumped from the back of the large bison, landing between the trees. I went to one of the higher, older trees in the forest, sitting on its thick branches, and sighed quietly. It was almost completely dark now.
'This will take a lot of explaining to the Order,' I thought. 'They will wonder why I did not complete my task...and why I harmed an innocent.'
"Z." Another ninja sat next to me, as if she had always been there.
"Cyra." I looked at her hidden face, silver eyes glinting in the low light.
"Where is your mask, Z? If you are caught without it-"
"I know the consequences," I snapped, cutting her off. "There was...a complication with my mission." She said nothing, expecting me to continue. I had to take a deep breath before speaking.
"I accidentally wounded an innocent girl. She is alive and in little danger, but the fact remains."
"The Order is not forgiving, Z. They cannot find out."
"I realize that, but if I had done nothing she would have a smaller chance of surviving. I had no choice." She placed a hand on my shoulder.
"Perhaps they will understand, if you explain-"
"They understand nothing. It was a simple mission: kill Zuko and no one else. I failed. That is all they will understand." I climbed down from the tree, gathering leaves and dried flower blossoms and placing them in a small leather pouch holding my shuriken. "I must return before she awakens. Cyra, please don't tell anyone. Promise?" She leapt down from the tree as well, nimble as a cat. She held up her right hand, palm facing me.
"I swear on my honor as a ninja." I smiled at her, watching as she disappeared into the darkness as quickly as she had come. I glanced up into the sky and saw a thin trail of smoke, just enough for a campfire. As I neared it, I heard other sounds, not of the forest. It wasn't Aang or Sokka, or even the giant Appa.
I froze. Someone was trying to sneak up on me. I whirled and was face to face with another ninja, or at least someone similar to one. Whoever it was, they wore a strange blue dragon mask. I drew my katana to fight, and my opponent pulled out what appeared to be a single sword. When we began fighting, however, it split into two. Not many were skilled with this type of weapon. It was dark enough that the person could not see my face. That would be true of any human, but if this were truly a ninja, then my troubles had multiplied.
Within five minutes I knew who the masked person was. The fighting style was exactly the same, though the weapon was different. This was no ninja.
"I see you have not halted your search for the Avatar, Prince Zuko. Too bad I'll have to halt it for you." I created a swirling gust of wind to blow leaves around me, hiding me from his sight. I drew one of the shorter knives, preparing to stab him. He would not get away from me this time.
A flash of fire burned through the charade of leaves. Zuko's mask was gone now, and he was mad.
"Why are you trying to kill me?" he asked angrily, taking a fighting stance with the swords.
"I wouldn't if I didn't have to," I said, putting the knife away and drawing the katana. This was not the way I preferred to do things. I worked best in silence, not hand-to-hand combat. That was not to say I was unskilled at it; it was simply not my method of choice.
"What do you mean 'if you didn't have to'? Who is sending you?" he asked as the fight continued.
"I do not know," I said calmly, not wanting to continue this conversation. He would have to die soon, before I ended up telling my life story all over again.
"How is that possible?" I stopped, as did he. A silent truce existed as I contemplated my next move.
"If you were what I am, you would know."
"What are you?" I said nothing. The moon shifted, casting a brief glow over the open clearing where we stood. It glinted off of my thin sword, and I took advantage of the moment to shine the light in his face. Truth be told, this would have had more of an adverse effect on me than it did on him. The silver glow blinded him for a second, all the time I needed. I hurled three shuriken at him, wounding one shoulder before attempting to finish him off with the katana.
I didn't succeed, not that night, though he did not attack me or defend himself. All he did was look at me, a look of confusion and desperation in his eyes that I have never witnessed in any human before. There is another power I possess. I didn't use it the first time I met Zuko because I felt no need since he was about to die. I can read people's memories by looking into their eyes.
I felt a new emotion then. It was pity.
My sword froze at his throat. I couldn't do it. Not now, and probably not ever, seeing what I had seen. This exiled prince might as well have been an innocent person for the miniscule amount of evil he held inside. He was not on a hunt for the Avatar seeking glory; it was merely a desperate attempt to return to the life he had once known. I felt sick with the thought that I had almost killed an essentially innocent person. I backed away, saying nothing, and disappeared into the forest.