Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Bender or its characters
Pointers: 'italics' means that the character is thinking
Summary: He hadn't seen her since the day he was banished, but he could still remember the way the wind had drifted her away. Zuko x OC
Book 3: Fire
The Western Air Temple & The Sun Warriors
The attack during the eclipse had ended up being a failure. They had lost the battle. Aang was unable to fight Ozai, the adults with the group had taken the fall, and the Fire Nation still rained supreme. Everyone, except for the Fire Nation, was crushed. Jiyuu at least had some hope since Aang was alive and well and not only that, Iroh had escaped his prison. At least with that in mind, she knew that they will be able to win another day. That was all that mattered. Right after they left, Aang had led them to the Western Air Temple which would be only temporary. Jiyuu had met Teo, Haru, The Duke, and Pipsqueak along the way. They were all pretty fun people and Jiyuu had liked being in their presence. It was nice to have fun once in a while even though the pain of defeat was still quite evident in everyone's eyes. Nobody would be completely happy until all of this was at least over.
Jiyuu had much of a good time fitting in whereas Zuko remained distant, aloof. She would try to drag him into group talks and such, but he would just distance himself as if it was killing him to be around the others. She wasn't sure what it meant or what was she doing wrong but she had hoped that over time that he would change. She still felt guilty however by not telling him about Junko, someone that Ozai didn't happen to mention the day before the attack. It often led her to wonder how Junko looked, what was she like, and most of all why did she kill Iroh's wife? What lead her to murder, who Jiyuu had heard, was such a kind and loving woman? It didn't just add up but she could feel that in her stomach that it must've been bad.
Around this time, Jiyuu would seclude herself in the library which had so many things that she could learn from. All the monks and airbenders that ever resided here were all around her. She could learn more about herself, all the bending arts she didn't know, and what her grandfather was like. Jodoshin seemed as wise as ever and she wondered what he could of taught her if he was still alive. "Hey." A voice had distracted her, her eyes now at the young bald boy who seemed to be smiling.
"Aang?" Jiyuu said his name in much of a surprised voice. He seemed like he was avoiding her, at least that's what she thought. He never seemed to want to be alone with her and she figured that since she was an airbender that he would want to get to know her more.
He sat down across from her and looked down at the table, his smile still there. "When the war is over, when I defeat the Fire Lord... What are you going to do?"
Her hazel eyes widened a fraction as she placed her hand on her cheek. "What am I going to do?" She repeated incredulously. Why didn't she ever think about that? Of course she wanted to be with Zuko, but did that mean she was going to spend the rest of her life with him in the Fire Nation? What about her father, mother, and her young brothers? Now that she found out she had a sister, she would surely look for her too. What was she going to do? "I don't really know." Jiyuu answered.
"I have to keep balance within the world, but I also need to restore the airbenders." His brown eyes never looked from the table, his cheeks seemed to brighten a rather red tint. All the female did was arch a brow, unsure of where he was going with this. "And that's why I want to find out if you would be doing the same?"
"Repopulating the airbending race you mean? I mean... You're not asking for me and you- Oh Aang! I can't do that with you!" Her face went red as she slapped her hands down on the table. He then began to freak out himself, his hands also slapping the table. "We can't!"
Aang shook his head, "That's not what I meant, Jiyuu! Not us two, but I'm saying-"
"Oh then yeah. When I'm married and with someone I love then yes." A sigh of relief escaped them both and they looked at each other and began to laugh. "You had me worried there for a second, Aang." She gave him a warm smile as he returned her a nervous laugh.
"I know how much you love Zuko. I can see it whenever you two are together, I couldn't possibly do that." He replied in which she smiled, "I love someone else too."
"You mean Katara?" Jiyuu said as she watch the twelve-year-old boy have a dreamy look on his face. "I can see it whenever you're around her too." The more she spoke to Aang, she felt a bond forming. She had hoped that they could build somewhat they were forming before Zuko basically kidnapped and took her to the Fire Nation palace. "Something else is troubling you, isn't it?
Aang nodded her head, "I still haven't mastered Firebending and-"
"You want to ask Zuko but you don't know how to approach him?" She finished his sentence in which he gave her a nod. "I'll talk to him about it. He's been quite broody lately and I don't know why."
Aang seemed quiet for a few minutes, "Isn't he always like that?"
Jiyuu's face fell but then she ended up bursting in a fit of laughter, "You do have a point."
He laughed with her for a few minutes, but his attention turned toward the door in which revealed that Katara was on her way in. "Aang? I didn't expect to see you in here." She said surprised as she walked over to them as Jiyuu was still recovering from her hard laugh.
"I came here to talk to Jiyuu! It was nice." Aang replied as he then stood up, "I'm going to go feed Appa." He stood up and then waved, "Oh and I hope Zuko comes around." He said as he opened the door and then closed it behind him.
Katara and Jiyuu were now alone in the library, "Speaking of Zuko, we need to talk." Jiyuu had looked at the waterbender with question. "I don't trust him."
"I thought he proved his trust when he fought against his father?" Jiyuu felt quite insulted, but she could understand where the girl was coming from. After all, he did betray her trust in the catacombs but she thought they came to an understand when she all gave them insight of Zuko's past. Was it because they lost that day that Katara's hatred for the Nation fueled the distrust? "I thought we were on levelground?"
With a sigh, Katara took a seat next to Jiyuu and faced her. "How do we know that he won't betray us again?"
"What point would there be, Katara? He left and there's no going back until Ozai isn't Fire Lord anymore. He won't do anything like that again, you have to believe me." Jiyuu could tell that the girl was still unsure, her blue eyes looking away from Jiyuu's hazel ones and down at the ground. "I won't let him hurt Aang, Azula won't hurt Aang ever again I promise." Jiyuu had placed her hand on the girl's shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze. She wasn't sure if Katara would believe her, but it was her only bet that she would give Zuko a second chance.
"Because I know you wouldn't break a promise, I'll try. I'm not saying that I won't change my mind." The girl was stubborn, much like Jiyuu, but the airbender could understand and she could accept that.
The pale-skinned girl stood up, "I'm going to also ask Zuko about considering on becoming Aang's firebending teacher. That's the only element that he hasn't learned, right? I'm sure Zuko would be the perfect one to do it." She said Katara looked a bit surprised.
"That would be a good idea, but that means you haven't discussed it with him yet. What if he rejects?" Katara asked as Jiyuu shrugged her shoulders.
"Its worth to give it a shot and I'm sure I can convince him and it'll give him something to do." Jiyuu smiled confidently, "But that doesn't matter, you need help with dinner?"
Katara returned the smile, "I'm fine. You should talk to Zuko because if he does agree then Aang has to learn real soon."
With a nod, Jiyuu walked out of the library and down the long hallway. Zuko's room was the fourth door from the hallway stairs, she knocked twice and didn't hear anything. Curious, she pushed the door open to see Zuko lying down on his bed and staring up at the ceiling. "Oh, you know when people knock you should tell them 'Come in' or 'I'm busy'. It makes things easier, Mr. Difficult." Her lips were a thin line as her eyes were half-lidded to reveal her irritation, but she didn't get a response and so she closed the door behind her. "What's wrong?" The Prince continued to stare at the ceiling with no indication of moving or even looking at her general direction. She walked over toward the bed and sat at the edge, her hand now on his chest. "Hello? Earth to Zuko?"
"I keep thinking about Uncle." He finally spoke which brought little relief to her since they were on the subject of Iroh. She was still worried about him too, but the mystery of her sister had made her feel uneasy about him too. "We were here before searching for the Avatar and I said something hurtful to him. That's all I ever do... Hurt him."
"Zuko." She sighed his name and laid down, her head pressing against his chest. She laid atop of of him and felt his arms encircle her before moving her to the empty space to his right so he could turn his body to her and hold her. "Iroh has forgiven you because he knows you don't mean those things. I bet he understands why you did the things you did. Don't think he'll ever stop loving you."
His fingers combed through her hair absentmindedly as he looked at the wall behind her. "I don't see how anyone can forgive me for the things I've done."
"Its because we love you, Zuko." She replied with her eyes closed, soaking in his body warmth. "You never intentionally tried to hurt us, so we found it in our hearts to forgive you."
She never understood why he never realized that, but after some convincing she had hoped that he might realize it. "You went through a lot to put up with me."
"Don't think about things like that right now. Just relax." She yawned as he closed his eyes and let out a small sigh.
- x -
"Junko! Junko!" The voice of a child yell, the sound of small feet against wooden floors loud enough to echo down the hall. A tall woman with long, black hair that had ended at her small waist had cut the corner. Her big, brown eyes smiling at the little girl before her. "Look at what I can do!" The girl showed the older woman a leaf and then held out her hand toward it and bend the air to make it dance atop of her hand in a circle.
"That's wonderful Jiyuu." said the older woman as she placed her hand atop of the small girl's head. Young Jiyuu smiled at the warm gesture and continued to grin at the praise, "You're becoming a strong airbender. I'm sure Grandpa would be proud if he was still alive."
"You met Grandpa Jodoshin, right? What was he like?" asked Junko's younger sibling.
Junko chuckled at the girl's enthusiasm, "He was calm and nice. He was also really fun and had a great sense of humor!" She explained as she tapped the tip of the girl's nose, "He held you when you were a baby and said you were the most beautiful girl he ever saw."
"But you're the most beautiful girl, Junko!" The brunette lowered her head and looked down at her feet, "There's no way I'm pretty than you."
With a smile, Junko wrapped her arms around her younger sister. "I think you're beautiful, Jiyuu. You are so vibrant and full of life. You have a lot of great things you can do. That's what makes you beautiful."
Jiyuu returned the embrace and rested her head in the crook of her sister's neck, enjoying the warmth that radiated off her sister. "So when you go to the Fire Nation, does that mean we'll never see you again?"
"I'm afraid so." Her sister replied, her voice sad. "But I'll always love you. Don't forget that."
"I'll never forget, Junko."
- x -
Jiyuu opened her eyes and sat up to see that Zuko wasn't lying beside her. She rose her hand and touched her face, she was crying. "How could I have forgotten her?"
"Forgotten who?" Jiyuu jumped but then calmed down when she saw it was Zuko with a cup of tea in his hands. "What's wrong?" He asked as he sat beside her as she was rubbing her eyes to get rid of her tears, but to act like she was getting sleep out of her eyes.
"Its nothing. How long was I asleep?" She asked as she rubbed her arms, still bothered by her short dream.
The Prince slightly furrowed his brows, but decided to answer her question. "Not very long. It was a quick nap." He handed her the cup of tea and she took it hesitantly, "Now stop dodging my questions. What's wrong?"
With a sigh of defeat, she looked down at her cup of the steaming hot drink. "I have an older sister named Junko and-"
"Junko?" He repeatedly incredulously, "When I was young, there was a maid named Junko."
"Well, she's my sister." Jiyuu replied as she could feel the boy glaring at her intensely, "I didn't tell you because I just found out a few days ago. Your father told me about her and what she did to Uncle's wife."
His eyes widened, "My father told you?"
"The night before the Solar Eclipse, I went sneaking around the palace. I felt odd, like, some part of me knew that something was wrong. And as I was wandering, I ran into Ozai who told me he saw through my disguise the whole time and about Junko."
"Why am I just knowing about this now?" He asked her as she continued to look down at her cup.
"Because I was still unsure about it myself." Jiyuu replied as she looked at him with sad eyes, "I mean, why would Junko kill Uncle's wife? I don't understand none of it and I was somewhat hoping that all of it was a lie. But I had a dream about her and now you're telling me you knew her... Its the truth." She took a sip of the drink.
His anger lessened as he closed his eyes, "I don't remember much about her, but I do remember that she was a servant in the Palace. She was nice whenever I seen her or spoke to her, but I didn't know she was the one who killed Aiko."
"Aiko? That was Uncle's wife name?" Jiyuu asked as Zuko nodded his head, "She had a pretty name."
"She was beautiful and kind." He said as he looked down at his lap at his folded his hands, "I can't imagine why anyone would want to kill her."
The airbender placed the now empty cup on the table beside the bed, "There has to be a reason and I want to ask Uncle, but I know that it must be a sensitive subject to him."
"I think he would telL you. You have every right to know about your sister." He watched as she moved her arms around him and pressed her face against his chest. "Don't stress yourself."
Jiyuu smiled at what he said, realizing she had told him that earlier. 'I'm such a hypocrite.' Jiyuu thought to herself as she felt Zuko hold her, "I know I shouldn't be but its so hard to soak all of this in."
"You're not alone either, so don't put all of it on yourself." He replied as she nodded her head.
"That reminds me." She pulled away and looked at him, "You have to be Aang's-"
"Firebending teacher?" Zuko finished the sentence as she looked at him surprised. "I already talked to them about it today and its agreed."
"Oh..." Jiyuu blinked several times, "I should've told you earlier but there was so much that was on my mind that... it just slipped." She laughed nervously as he rolled his eyes, but his smile didn't leave.
He pressed his lips against her forehead, but then noticed how warm she was. "Are you, alright? You feel warm." He said, concerned as she blinked several times and placed her hand on her forehead.
"I feel fine, but I may be coming down with something." She frowned, "Just when I thought things couldn't get worse."
"Its a good thing I brought you that cup of tea. You should rest, it'll go away faster." The airbender groaned as she was forced to lay down, Zuko stood up but she grabbed his arm and whined. "What is it now?"
"Your going to leave me?" She said with wide eyes and pout, he rolled his eyes. "How could you?"
He shook his head, "I was just going to put the cup with the rest of the dishes. Stop acting like a child." He smiled playfully as he watched her pout turn into a full blown angry frown.
"I don't need you! Go ahead, leave me alone for all I care." She let go of his arm and folded her arms while turning away from him.
Silently, he counted with his fingers. 5...4...3...2..1 "Your really going to leave me in here?" She asked while looking at the wall, he sat on the bed and laid down beside her, his arms wrapped around her from behind.
"If it'll make you go to sleep then I'll stay."
In the morning, Jiyuu had felt completely better. She saw Zuko was still asleep beside her and that's when she noticed that it wasn't even sunrise yet. Carefully, she crawled out of the bed and left the room and raised her arms to stretched them above her head. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and saw Katara who had just turned the corner. "Katara!" Jiyuu waved her arms as she ran after the watertribe girl, who turned around when she heard her name called.
"Hey, you feeling all right? You were in your room all day yesterday." said Katara as the two walked alongside each other.
Jiyuu scratched her cheek, "Well, I was really tired. I had a lot of things on my mind."
"What's troubling you? You can talk to me about it." The waterbender said in a means to comfort her. The two had somewhat of a friendship, not a close one due to the lack of time they spent together, but they could work on it now since they were going to be together for a while.
"Some really heavy stuff, girl. Let me tell you, I found out my sister killed Uncle Iroh's wife from Fire Lord Ozai." She threw her arms in the air to emphasize the craziness while Katara, surprised, looked at the airbender with wide eyes.
"You actually talked to Fire Lord Ozai?" Katara asked as Jiyuu nodded her head, "But why would he tell you that?"
"I really don't know. I think he's trying to mess with my head, but I found out that it was true." She folded her arms, "But he said that it was part of the reason that he kept me alive."
The girl hummed as she tried to figure it out but since there wasn't much to go on, there could be no way she could find out the answer. "Did you talk to Zuko about it?"
"Yeah, but he doesn't really know much about it. He was young. That doesn't even help the fact that I don't even know where my sister is. My parents never talked about her at all." Jiyuu replied.
"I'm sure you'll find out about it and yeah, that's some pretty heavy stuff. Don't let it weigh you down though, we need you to help stop Ozai." Katara added which made Jiyuu smile.
"I know and I don't plan to disappoint." Jiyuu then stopped once they saw Sokka walking up towards him, "Hey Wolftail."
Sokka looked confused, "Wolftail?" He then placed his hand on his ponytail and then pointed at her, "Clever. Way better than being called Snoozles, I'll tell you that."
Jiyuu shook her head, "I think Snoozles fits perfectly. I'm not going to seriously call you Wolftail, I just forgot your name for a few seconds."
"You forgot my name?! But I am the most memorable person here!" He pointed to himself as his face had surprise, hurt, and disbelief written all over it.
"I was just kidding, Sokka! Sheesh." She laughed as the blue-eyed boy gave her a deadpanned expression. "Its fun messing with you, but anyway is Aang ready for firebending training?"
Sokka rubbed his chin, "I don't know. He's probably still asleep."
"I hope he wakes up soon because firebenders rise with the sun and if he-" Jiyuu was cut off by a loud noise. They all looked each other before running outside to see a tall man with a beard and what looked like a tattoo of an eye on his forehead. "Who the hell is that?"
"OH NO!" Sokka yelled, "Its Sparky Sparky boom man!"
"Sparky what?" Jiyuu questioned with squinted eyes as the man inhaled, preparing to fire a blast of energy. Zuko, swinging on a vine towards the man, bumped into him as he fires which hits the ledge above the fountain and exploding. Everyone else shielded themselves from the falling rock, "What is going on?!
"Stop!" Zuko said the man as Jiyuu and everyone looked cnfused, "I don't want you hunting the Avatar anymore." He continued as he walked towards the deadly man as he stands back up after being knocked down. Everyone appears shocked as Zuko stood in front of the intruder, his arms spread out to block him. "The mission is off. I'm ordering you to stop!"
"ZUKO! WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!" Jiyuu yelled, obviously outraged.
Going unanswered, Combustion Man shoved the prince out of the way and fires another blast at the top of the mountain, destroying it. Aang, Sokka, Katara, Toph, and Jiyuu duck behind the ledge, covering their heads. "If you keep attacking, I won't pay you!" The man stopped the boy in front of him in his tracts by grabbing him by the shirt. Zuko throws his fireball, but misses and hit the ground. "All right, I'll pay you double to stop!"
Zuko swung his arms down, making Combustion Man let go. He turns and executes a shot jumping sidekick just as Combustion Man fires another shot, knocking his aim off and knocking Zuko away. Aang looks at the incoming blast with fire and ducks his head, but the blast of energy travels down past the ledge where the fountain is and explodes as it makes contact with an upside down pagoda below it.
Landing on his feet, the prince created a shield of fire as the blast that the enemy fired hit the shield and caused it to explode. The force of the explosion caused the boy to push across the floor. Nobody had seen where Zuko had gone, a cloud of smoke covering everything, but when it passed the edge of the ledge there was no sign of Zuko. Jiyuu ran towards the direction where Zuko went, but a blast appeared right in front of her which caused her to be blown back.
Everyone began to fight back, Sokka even threw his boomerang and managed to hit the man on his head where the eye was. It knocked him down, but he managed to get up a few minutes later. Seeing that there was no way for her to get toward Zuko, Jiyuu and the others ran back towards the stone pillar. As the man prepared to do another attack, he was swaying which Jiyuu knew that Sokka's boomerang had done some far greater damaged than she expected. Sparks came out of his forehead and even a small explosion, but a massive explosion to the pagoda had destroyed it and caused him to fall in it. His metal, clawed arm flew into the distance and as they looked upward, Zuko was climbing up the vine from earlier and pulling himself up once he reached the ledge. When he stood, Jiyuu ran towards him and embrace him.
"I'm all right." He said as he felt her hold on him tight, he smiled as she pulled away with sad eyes. But as fast as they were sad, they turned angry. "Oh brother..." He mumbled.
"Who the hell was that?!" She pointed to the detached, metal arm in the distance.
Zuko sighed, "That was some guy I hired to..."
"To?" Sokka folded his arms, awaiting an explanation.
"To end Aang when I was back in the Fire Nation." He mumbled.
"YOU HIRED SOMEONE?!" Aang shouted incredulously as Jiyuu looked wide eyed.
Zuko raised his arms defensively, "That was before I changed! I mean if I could I would take it back, but I didn't know he was still going on with the mission! I thought he was gone. I told you about this Jiyuu, remember at the party?"
Jiyuu narrowed her eyes, but then slapped her head upon remember. "You did, he's telling the truth. I wish I had done something about it sooner."
"See? I'm telling the truth." The Prince continued as everyone continued to glare at him for a few minutes.
"I mean, he did defeat him but its hard to sweep this under the rug." Sokka sighed as everyone seemed to agree with it.
Katara folded her arms, still heated. "But I think he should of told us about it a while ago."
"How could I tell you? 'Before when I didn't change I hired an evil, combustive man to kill the Avatar? But I'm good now so it doesn't matter.' Would that have been a reasonable explanation to you?"
Aang shrugged, agreeing that the explanation wouldn't of sounded good either way. "We seen for yourself how much you've changed... So I guess we forget all about this?"
Katara frowned, "Its pretty hard to forget a man that almost killed us."
"But he's gone now. There's nothing to worry about and Sparky isn't going to do anything? Not with Ballerina over here to stop him." Toph pointed her thumb in Jiyuu's direction, somewhat over the situation.
"She does have a point..." The watertribe boy agreed and placed his arms behind his head, "Let's try to forget this."
Toph stuck her pinky in her ear, turning it back and forth. "Isn't Aang supposed to get his firebending lessons or something?"
Aang's face then lit up, "That's right!"
Zuko sighed, "Right. Well, let's go right now and we're going to use the balcony since its safer." He walked ahead as Aang followed behind. Sokka, Katara, Toph, and Jiyuu watched them leave.
"It was extremely awkward." Katara commented.
"Tell me about it," Jiyuu found herself laughing, "I thought I was the only one who felt uncomfortable."
Jiyuu was in the nice, hot water in the large bathing room in the temple. It was split with a large, wooden wall between the two. One side was for boys and the other was for girls. Jiyuu was accompanied by Katara and Toph who were also sighing of relief of getting a fresh bath and having nice, steamy water.
"This is nice." Toph said as she lowered herself in the water so that it was almost up to her nose.
Katara nodded her head, agreeing. "Definitely. Its nice to have a break from the boys."
Jiyuu smiled, "I know. I thought we would never get rid of the-" Jiyuu stopped herself once she heard sounds. "I think the boys are coming."
"Their what?!" Katara and Toph said in a unision, scared.
Jiyuu placed her forefinger over her lips as they heard some splashing and a "YA HOO!" which was obviously Sokka. "I told you the girls wouldn't be here!" He said as the Katara and Jiyuu looked at each other.
"Where do you think they went?" asked Haru as Katara found herself wanting to groan but remaining quiet.
"I dunno! Probably to do some girl stuff like sewing and stuff." Sokka waved his arm dismissively as if not caring what the girls went to do.
"The water is pretty cold. Hey Zuko, can you do some firebending to heat the water some?" Aang asked .
"What do I look like? A heater?" The Prince retorted as Aang pouted, "Why don't you do it yourself? Its good practice."
Jiyuu and Katara continued to listen on, Toph had her ear presse against the wooden wall. "So, since its just us manly men, why don't we discuss manly things."
"What are manly things?" The Duke asked.
Sokka grinned, "You really wouldn't understand since you're young, but its best you learn now. Like girls and stuff like that."
Katara and Jiyuu looked at each other once more, both of them curious of how this conversation was going to go as Toph grinned. "For instance, Zuko, he has a girlfriend, isn't that right, Zuko?"
"Obviously." The boy answered, uninterested in the topic but participating so that he wouldn't have an headache.
"How far have you gone with her?" Jiyuu's eyes widened at Sokka's bold question.
"...What did you just ask me?" She could tell that Zuko was embarrassed and quite angry with the question.
"Its just between us men. Its safe here." The watertribe boy egged on as the other boys appeared interested in the question.
Aang, however, was confused. "What do you mean how far has he gone with her? They went to many places together."
"That's not what I meant Aang. You see, when a man and woman love each other, they do things to make each other happy." Sokka tried to explained to the Avatar.
"Like what?' He inquired, wanting to know what exactly the older boy meant.
Sokka, growing frustrated and embarrassed, slapped the water. "Things that pleases the other. You wouldn't understand."
"I think I should leave." Zuko was about to stand, but was pushed down by the watertribe boy.
"Go and answered the question," He nudged the boy's side as the prince's face was quite red with embarrassment.
With a sigh, Zuko spoke. "...All the way."
"All the way? You mean... you guys..." Jiyuu's face went completely red as Katara looked at Jiyuu with surprise as Sokka appeared shocked along with everyone else. "You're officially a man, Zuko!"
"What's all the way?" The Duke asked.
"The final level." Teo answered, "Its like beating a game."
The Duke and Aang both said a long, "Ohhhh" but still were unsure of what they were faking they understood.
"What was it like?" Teo asked as the Prince's face grew redder and redder, he pinched the bridge of his nose.
"I don't want to talk about this." Zuko groaned, feeling uncomfortable by the whole ordeal.
"Its just us. We're your friends, you can talk about stuff like this with us." Sokka continued on, "All though you're the only one out of all of us who has gone that far. You're experienced compared to the rest of us." He rubbed his chin, contemplating on something.
"You must really love her to have gone that far with her." Haru said with a smile, "You're lucky to have a girl that you love."
All the boys seemed to nod in agreement, "I have a girl that I love too!" Sokka said, somewhat jealous at everyone's jealousy of Zuko's relationship.
Toph's ears perked at Sokka's words, "But Zuko, what was it like?"
"It was..." The boy looked away and then looked down at the water at his own reflection, "what I expected it would be."
"And since Zuko has high expectations, it must've been great!" Aang threw his arms in the air with a big smile.
Jiyuu was seething with rage but she didn't want to give up her cover, a apart of her was happy but she was too embarrassed to accept that side of her. "Yeah..." Zuko replied.
"It would be really awkward if the girls were on the other side." Aang mentioned which caused Jiyuu, Toph, and Katara to tense up.
"I wouldn't even want to think about that!" Sokka slapped the water, "And I'm sure they aren't because they would've said something or we would of heard them. Girls talk a lot about stuff, they need to talk or else they'll go crazy."
All three girls had a deadpanned expression, "Wow Sokka, you seem to know everything about girls." Teo said as Zuko rolled his eyes as the compliment gave the warrior quite a boost to his ego.
"I know a thing or two." said Sokka with an egoistical grin.
"It seems to me that Zuko knows more since he went all the way." Aang pointed at the prince who slapped his palm to his forehead.
Haru and The Duke nodded, "Aang does have a point. So Zuko, what's your advice in wooing a girl?" Haru asked.
"My advice?" Zuko looked flabbergasted, "I wouldn't really know. Just be yourself."
Sokka shook his head disapprovingly, "No, no! Being yourself is the last thing you do! You have to be forward, macho, show them that your the best of the best!"
Zuko arched a brow at Sokka's explanation, "Oh yeah?"
"Definitely! That's how I got girls." He smugly said as Haru and Teo looked at one another and shrugged, accepting it.
"That's how you got Jiyuu to fall for you, Zuko?" The Duke asked, "Jiyuu's really pretty."
Zuko smiled, "No, I got her by being myself. Jiyuu fell in love with me for who I was. She accepted the bad, the good, and the inbetween. Jiyuu and I knew each other since we were kids. It just took a long time for us to be together because we were separated and I was afraid to tell her my feelings."
"You knew each other since you were kids?" Haru was surprised along with Teo and The Duke.
"Oh yeah, Jiyuu did tell me she grew up with you." Aang nodded, now remembering the time they were staying the cave in the Fire Nation. "But that doesn't explain how you got her to fall in love with you."
The Prince sighed and closed his eyes, "You can't make someone fall in love with you. They have to love you on their own, you shouldn't force yourself on them because it can drive them away. Maybe it works for other people, but from my experience, being yourself and honest can lead you to a happy relationship."
Aang smiled as he thought about Katara, "I'll try it."
"Me too!" Haru added as Teo and The Duke nodded in confirmation. Jiyuu, however, was smiling the whole time. Her anger chipping away.
It was the next day and Jiyuu found herself stretching, her arms in the sky. It was a bright and beautiful morning, birds chirping and the sun bright. Whenever there were days like this, she felt like she was on top of the world but lately at night she found herself sickly. She wasn't quite sure what it was, but she knew that some nights it would be worse than others. She had begun to believe that it was the stress, finding out about her sister and her worry about Iroh. There was so much going on and maybe instead of talking about it, like she should, that it was causing her body to go through some changes. It didn't make quite sense really, but it was the only thing Jiyuu wanted to rely on.
"Hey!" A familiar voice called out to her in which Jiyuu turned to see it was Sokka.
"Hey Sokka, what's up?" She asked.
The boy shrugged his shoulders, "Zuko is training Aang today, right? I wanted to check it out but I don't know where they are."
"Let's walk around until we find them." Jiyuu grinned as the two walked alongside each other. The silence now forming quite awkward, but comforting in its own way. "So, what's up with you? Like, y'know, how ya feel about stuff?"
"To be honest," Sokka looked up at the sky, "I'm worried about my dad and the others who sacrificed themselves."
Jiyuu frowned, "I understand. Its stressful to think about, but don't think too much about it. We'll see them soon and we'll all fight together."
"Yeah, that's what I've been trying to do but its pretty hard." The boy confided in her and then folded his arms, "I'll be fine though."
"That's the spirit!" Jiyuu cheered with a bright smile and a thumbs up, the boy couldn't help but smile also. "Oh look! An apple tree!" Sokka's eyes lit up as Jiyuu jumped in the air, using some of her airbender to take her higher and swiped two apples. "Want one?"
Sokka pouted, "Would I ever turn down food?"
"What was I thinking? Sokka saying no to food? How silly of me." Jiyuu teased sarcastically, chuckling as the boy squinted his eyes.
"I'm not sure if that was a compliment or an insult." He said as he snatched the one apple out of her hand.
"And stop calling me that!" They heard not too far in which the two looked at each other and gave each other a nod. Yup, that was Zuko all right. They both walked towards where they heard the voice.
"Hey, jerks." Sokka took a bite out of his apple, finding a spot to sit down to observe Aang and Zuko. Jiyuu stood beside him, "Mind if I watch you two jerks do your jerk bending."
Jiyuu cut Sokka a glare, in which he pretended to ignore, as she decided she was going to leave him with a warning. "Get out of here!" Zuko yelled at Sokka, obviously already annoyed and more frustrated by Sokka's words.
Sokka, however, was amused by it all. He thought he should keep egging the Prince on, "Ok, take it easy." He drops the core of the apple, waving his hands dismissively. "I was just kidding around." He stood up and adjusts his shirt, "Jerkbending, still got it."
Zuko dropped his head and moans while Aang looked at Jiyuu who had a concerned look, "What's going on?" She managed to ask.
"I don't know." Zuko groaned, walking off as Aang ran over to her.
The brunette looked at the Monk with some form of hope of understanding what was going on, but he still looked unsure of what was happening himself. "Something wrong and I'm not sure what it is."
"I'll give him some space." Jiyuu answered, sighing. Even though she very much wanted to follow him and comfort him, she knew that he would come around eventually.
That Night...
Everyone was sitting around the campfire, eating dinner that Katara had prepared for them. Zuko was leaning on a column with his arms crossed, his mind elsewhere. Jiyuu placed her hand on her stomach feeling nausea but she knew it wasn't from the food, it was delicious, but she wasn't sure what was causing it. After eating some of her noodles, she just stared at it as she tried to force herself not to bring it back up. "Listen everybody;" Everyone turned to look at him, wondering what he was going to say, "I've got some pretty bad news. I've lost my stuff." He said as he hung his head.
Toph raised both arms in the air, "Don't look at me. I didn't touch yourself." She then folded her arms as Jiyuu continued to look at her boyfriend, unsure.
"What are you talking about?" Jiyuu finally asked what everyone was thining.
"I'm talking about my firebending. It's gone." He finally answered.
There was nothing but silence, shock on almost everyone's face but the silence was broken when the waterbender laughed maniacally. Everyone's attention went from Zuko and to her, "I'm sorry." She apologized, "I'm just laughing at the irony. You know... how it would have been nice for us if you lost your firebending a long time ago."
"Well it's not lost. It's just weaker for some reason." Zuko tried to clarify. "I bet it's because I changed sides."
"That's ridiculous." Katara commented, drinking the contents in the bowl.
Aang seemed unsure, "I don't know. Maybe it isn't. Maybe your firebending comes from rage,a nd you just don't have enough anger to fuel it the way you used to."
Sokka grinned mischievously, "So, all we need to do is making Zuko angry... easy enough."
He then used the hilt of his sword to nudge the Crown Prince in the wait and head several times. Jiyuu sighed as Zuko then bellows, "Ok, cut it out!" The watertribe boy stopped what he was doing and his sword fell on his head, "Look... even if you're right," He began as he anxiously rubbed the bridge of his nose, "I don't want to rely on hate and anger anymore. There has to be another way."
"You're gonna need to learn to draw your firebending from a different source. I recommend the original source." She said as she used her chopsticks to place some noodles in her mouth, slurping them up and then chews.
Sokka, still rubbing his head from the sword landing on his head, tries to contribute to the conversation. "So is it jumping into a volcano?"
"No, Sokka." Jiyuu spoke up as everyone looked at her, "The original source of Firebending would be the Dragons."
"Just like the original benders of earthbending were badgermoles." She said as she then reminisced, "One day, when I was little, I ran away and hid in a cave. That's were I met them. They were blind, just like me, so we understood each other. I was able to learn earthbending, not just as a martial art, but as an extension of my senses. For them, the original eartbenders, wasn't just about fighting. It was their way of interacting with the world."
Aang smiled, "That's amazing, Toph. I learned from the monks as Jiyuu learned from their scrolls, but the original airbenders were the Sky Bison."
"But that doesn't help Zuko. Dragons are extinct." Jiyuu sighed.
"What do you mean? Roku had a dragon, and there were plenty of dragons when I was a kid." The Avatar said, confused.
Zuko, however, got defensive due to his current and obvious frustration of his bending. "Well, they aren't around anymore, ok?"
"Ok, ok." Aang said and acted to appease him, "I'm sorry."
"But maybe there's another way." The Prince said as he walked towards the fountain, "The first people to learn from the dragons were the ancient Sun Warriors."
"Sun warriors?" Aang walked over toward Zuko, confused. "Well, I know they weren't around when I was a kid.
Jiyuu shook her head, "Of course not. They died off centuries, even thousands, of years ago. But I know where Zuko is going with this."
"So, what about them? If they are dead then what's the point?" Aang asked.
"Their civilization wasn't too far from where we are now. Maybe we can learn something by poking around their ruins."
"It's like the monks use to tell me. Sometimes, the shadows of the past can be felt by the present."
Jiyuu seemed to frown, Katara noticed it and was quite worried. "So, what?" Sokka said as both Aang and Zuko turned their heads towards him, "Maybe you'll pick up some super old Sun Warrior energy just by standing," He moved his arms in a fluttering motion as he spoke, "where they stood 1000 years ago?"
"Its better than nothing, Sokka." Jiyuu commented.
Zuko agreed, nodding. "Either I find a new way to firebend, or the Avatar has to find a new teacher." Aang looked worried as Jiyuu placed her bowl down and walked over to Aang and smiled.
"Don't worry, I'm sure if you go there that something great will happen." She decided to be the optimistic one after seeing the Avatar's worried expression.
He smiled at her words as her hazel eyes then looked to Zuko's gold ones, "And I'm sure you'll figure out what's wrong with your firebending." She said to him as she took hold of his hand, worried herself but trying to be supportive.
The Duke, Teo, and Haru looked at each other, "We should get some advice from Zuko next time." The Duke whispered as Teo nodded his head along with Haru.
"What kind of advice?" Toph asked as the boys tensed up.
"Nothing!" All three of them said simultaneously.
"Right..." Toph said, still suspicious. The boys still didn't know that the girls had heard their conversation in the bathhouse and it was fun that they hadn't known.
It was early in the morning and Jiyuu had found herself waking up like she had been. After dinner, she she had vomited almost all the noodles she had ate and after doing so, she felt better. She wasn't sure what was causing the sickness or if it was stress but she had wondered why it only managed to happen at night. Zuko was growing more and more concerned about it, he could see her fatigue and even when they would tussle, her strength wasn't fully back. Her punches were a bit weak, her arms a bit shaky and she was grow pale but when morning came she would be back to her regular self. He wanted to ask Katara about it, but Jiyuu had strongly urged him not to.
"You feeling better?" He asked, placing his forehead against the girl beside him, who looked at him curiously.
"Yeah, I always seem to feel better in the morning." She frowned, "I don't know what's wrong with me."
"I still think that asking Katara would help the situation." Zuko was obviously concerned whereas Jiyuu wanted to brush it off, "What would it hurt?"
Jiyuu shook her head, "Because she has a lot of things going on with her. I don't want to bother her. I'm probably sick, I mean people get sick." She shrugged as he didn't seem to be agreeing with her for the most part.
"What if this keeps continuing? What if you're growing worse as we speak?" He asked her as she could see that he was growing agitated. He was concerned, but he was annoyed at how nonchalant she was.
"I'll be fine. You have to trust me, all right? If I keep being sick then I'll go to Katara and if I get better than you owe me something." She placed her hands on his shoulder and smiled, "Everything will be all right. Now, aren't you and Aang going to see the Sun Warriors Civilization?"
Zuko's mouth was a thin line. He was still concerned, but he was glad that she came around to speaking to Katara sometime soon. "Fine." He wasn't sure what she was going to ask for, but it if would make her keep her promise then he didn't care. "Yeah..." He sighed, "What if I don't get my bending back to how its supposed to be? What if it dies out."
"Don't think like that." She grabbed his cheek and pulled it slightly, the boy winced and even began to flail his arm as he said a series of 'ows'. "You'll get your bending back and when you do, you'll come back stronger than you ever were! Because if you don't, I can finally say that I'm the best."
She let go of his cheek and he rubbed it slowly, but he ended up smiling since he did feel a better from her words. "Didn't you always think that way?"
Jiyuu chuckled, "But now you'll know that I was always telling the truth."
"I did." He brushed her bangs from her forehead and planted a kiss right in the center of it.
"So now when I'm sick, I don't get a kiss on the lips anymore? How sweet." She pouted and folded her arms, looking away sadly.
Zuko rolled his eyes and cupped her face, "Are you going to take care of me when I get sick."
"No." Jiyuu immediately answered.
"Shows how much you care." He replied but he knew she was just kidding since she was grinning. He pressed his lips against hers and she had returned the kiss, her arms
around his neck and his arms around her waist.
The door had opened to reveal Aang, who blushes immediately. "Oh, uh," the couple pulled away from each other and look at Aang with wide eyes, "... Just checking to see if Zuko was ready but uhm, you two can continue kissing... and stuff." He laughed nervously before shutting the door immediately and from the sounds of it, speeding away.
Jiyuu looked back at up at Zuko, who was looking back down at her. "You oughta get going."
"It would've been awkward if he walked in on us havi-"
"Stop!" Jiyuu's face flushed red, her arms now flailing as her boyfriend looked at her with a dumbfounded expression. "Don't say it."
"Why are you so embarrassed about it?" He asked, "You weren't embarrassed when we were doing it."
The airbender flailed her arms, her face a beet red. "Of course I wasn't you idiot! You just don't understand!" She folded her arms and continued to look away. "Its just... Its just something that I'm shy about, okay? We could do it a hundred times and I'd still be shy of talking about it."
"That doesn't make any sense." He said but wrapped arms around her torso, his arms making an ex as each hand held her one shoulder. "But I still love you."
Jiyuu smiled and placed her hands on his arm, her eyes closing as he rested his chin atop of her head. "I love you too, Zuko. I always will."
"I should get going, but walk with me?" Zuko said as he let go and held his hand out to her. She took his hand, holding it tightly as they both left out of the room and walked down the Air Temple halls. Once they reached the doors that led to the outside of the temple, they had saw Aang and the others waiting patiently near Appa.
"There you guys are!" Katara said as Sokka had a mischievous grin on his face. Jiyuu squinted her eyes at him, as he quickly coughed and looked away as if he hadn't done a thing.
"I'm sorry I took so long." Zuko said as he gave Jiyuu's hand a squeeze as if he was nervous before letting go and walking over towards the avatar.
Aang smiled, "Its fine. We should get going now." He then looked at Katara, "We won't be long so don't worry about us."
The waterbender gave a firm nod, "Things will be fine here, right Jiyuu?"
Jiyuu smiled and gave a nod of her own, "Of course. Anything happens, me and Katara got it."
"Don't forget to mention me." Sokka said, feeling left out. "I'll be the top dog around here."
Jiyuu and Katara both rolled their eyes, "Right..." His sister replied as both Aang was atop of the bison's head and Zuko in his saddle.
"Yip yip!" Aang told the bison in which it began to fly off the ground and into the sky. Everyone had watched them leave and while the boys went off somewhere inside the temple, Katara as well as Toph remained outside with Jiyuu.
Jiyuu could hear Zuko's voice in her head, bothering her to tell Katara about her nightly sickness. Maybe she should tell before things progressed worse, but she was almost afraid that it would be a waste of time as well. "Katara." J
"Yeah?" The female replied, a smile on her face.
"Have you ever heard of someone just getting randomly sick at night?" The airbender asked, fiddling with her fingers as she grew nervous.
"Well, that's odd." Toph mentioned with her arms folded.
Katara nodded her head, agreeing with the earthbender. "What kind of symptoms do you go through?"
"I get very nauseated, some foods I can't even eat anymore because the smell is too much, and I feel fatigue. I really don't know why." Jiyuu folded her arms, "It just came out the blue."
Katara rubbed her chin, thinking on it. "Have you had your monthly?" She finally asked.
"...You know, I haven't had it since I was in the Fire Nation." Jiyuu said with wide eyed.
Katara had the same expression, "Jiyuu that was over two months ago!"
"You don't think that I'm..." The airbender covered her mouth, surprised and even scared.
"...It has to be. Instead of morning sickness you have night sickness." Katara tried to put two and two together, "How are you going to explain this to Zuko?"
"...I don't know! We're in a middle of a war and I'm pregnant!"
Toph gasped, "Ballerina is pregnant?!" Both Jiyuu and Katara gave her a dumbfounded expression, "What? I didn't understand what you guys were talking about." She said with her arms folded.
"Well... I suppose I am and I don't even know what I'm going to do." The airbendered whined and bent her knees, almost feeling like she wanted to cry. She had always dreamed of having Zuko's child but not this young and in the middle of war mind. There was so much danger all around, how can she promise any safety?
Katara bent down next to her and placed her hand on the girl's shoulder, "Whatever you're going to do. You have to tell Zuko, it wouldn't be right to keep that from him."
"I know and its not like I can hide it anyway. I'll tell him, but just not today." She sighed as she looked at Katara with a sad smile. "You know, I feel kind of happy that I'm having his child but I feel sad that I'm not married or even ready."
The waterbending nodded understandingly, but before she could say something Toph had stepped in. "You'll be a great mother Jiyuu and it doesn't matter. You guys love each other and I'm sure marriage was gonna happen between you and Sparky. Don't beat yourself up." Jiyuu smiled at the earthbender's words and then pulled the younger girl into a hug, "Thank you, Toph. That made me so happy."
"Yeah, yeah. I really don't like you being upset Ballerina." Toph patted the girl's back before being let go.
Jiyuu smiled at Katara as well, "Thank you, Katara. You've become one of my closest friends so that's why I trust that if something were to ever happen to me, I want you to help Zuko take care of my child. And if something were to happen to Zuko as well, that you will step in."
The waterbender was moved by the promise that Jiyuu wanted from her, she even felt her eyes watering up. "I hope nothing happens to you two, but I promise that I'll do all you ask of me."
"Thank you Katara and Toph, I want you to be there too. Make sure my boy or girl is tough, kay?" Toph had a rather smug smile.
"Well of course!" Toph waved her hand, "They'll be strong if I have anything to do with it."
"Thanks guys. I just want to make sure that my child's future is safe and with you two, I know they will." Jiyuu smiled as both Toph and Katara returned them.
"Well Ballerina, let's hope it doesn't come to that. I want ya to stick around not just for us, but for little Sparky as well." Toph pointed at Jiyuu, in who chuckled at the nickname.
"All right. But I would just like to be safe than sorry."
Nightfall...
"With this technique the dragon showed us, Zuko and I would be unstoppable." Aang explained as the two were firebending in harmonious movements, it looked very much like dancing. Jiyuu however was glad to see that Zuko had found his strength in firebending again. At the final pose, everyone applauds.
"Yeah, that's a great dance you two learned there." Sokka said as he was eating the rice from his bowl.
As usual, the Prince got quite defensive at Sokka's words. "It's not a dance. It's a firebending form."
Sokka kept going, knowing he was irritating him. "We'll just tap-dance," he made a dancing motion with his forefinger and middle finger, "our way to victory over the Fire Lord."
Zuko walked over towards Sokka as Jiyuu sighed and walked over to him to try to stop him. "Zuko, just let it go."
"No, I'm not letting it go. It's a sacred form that happens to be thousands of years old. It should not be insulted!" He fired back in which made her sigh again.
Jiyuu then folded her arms, "Then what is it Zuko? It looks like dancing to me? What's it called?"
Her boyfriend froze up, his cheeks flushing red. "The Dancing Dragon."
Everyone begins to laugh as Zuko tries to control his temper, but releases it in a shrug as Jiyuu holds his arm in a living manner. "It sounds nice. I'm sure Iroh would love the name, huh?" She laughed softly, her hand on her cheek.
Zuko smiled, "Yeah, I'd like to tell him about it." His smile soon became a sad one, but Jiyuu decided she wasn't going to let him remain upset about it. In fact, she was quite sure that telling him that she was pregnant wasn't the right time yet but she wanted to make sure of something.
"Let's go for a walk." She said, grabbing onto his hand and pulled him away from the campfire.
Aang then noticed the two walking off somewhere and then looked at Katara's expression, who seemed to be quite worried. "Something wrong, Katara?"
The waterbender was startled by his question, jumping a little. "Oh, uhm, nothing!" She answered quickly as she began to gather all the empty, dirty dishes. The Avatar raised a brow, skeptical of her reaction but decided not to push further.
Meanwhile, Zuko and Jiyuu were walking hand-in-hand around the Air Temple, "So when do you think you'll ever want kids? Like, three years after being Fire Lord?"
He looked at her as she he looked up at him, she tried to hide her nervousness. "I guess after a year or two of being married." He answered as she bit her lip, feeling a bit sad and unsure. "Who knows if I'll ever be Fire Lord?"
"Yeah, you do have a point." She laughed nervously before looking away, wondering what she should do.
Jiyuu: The Japanese name meaning "Freedom"
Lots of surprises, huh? I hope it was good.