Hello all and welcome to Part II of "Shades of Red"! I've got a lot planned for Huo and Iroh and I hope you enjoy it! Part II takes place in a completely different setting from Part I, so be prepared for an adjustment period. These chapters may not be as constant as before, but I couldn't keep you guys waiting any longer!

Let's get this show on the road!

Disclaimer: I do not own The Legend of Korra or any of the Avatar characters.

Part II

White Flashbulbs

Stomp stomp, I've arrived

Drop the beat, nasty face, why you lookin' at me?

"General Iroh, who do you support in the presidential race?"

"General Iroh, if Liag Jin is elected, he's said that he will lower recruitment quotas for the United Forces. How do you feel about this?"

"General Iroh!"

"General Iroh, do you realize how much tax payer money is used to fund your army? Billions!"

"General Iroh, how does this change of political affiliation effect your being the Crown Prince of the Fire Nation? What next, a democratic president for your nation, as well?"

A beautiful young, stern-faced woman was standing at the podium. She definitely wasn't the general, who was standing to her side and whispering in her ear. She'd been seen only a few times in the three months since the Battle for Republic City and many wondered what happened to Hamin, the general's old adviser. A woman obviously wasn't his new political and military consultant.

"Everyone please, settle down," the woman said with a calm voice, though her eyes remained firm. White flashes clicked left and right from cameras. "General Iroh supports the man that Republic City votes into office. He knows that the people will choose wisely. Now, if you'll excuse us, General Iroh will take no more questions."

"And who are you to speak for the general?"

The woman stopped from leaving, her back a little too straight in her rather plain Fire Nation pant suit. She turned and a few strands of pitch black hair fell out of the rather stern coif on the back of her head. "I'm sorry?"

The reporters could sense her hesitation and fed on it like piranha-koi. "Who are you?"

"You quite literally popped out of nowhere and now you're seen by General Iroh's side twenty-four seven."

"How did the two of you meet?"

"Is there a royal wedding in the future?"

Her face filled with blush. Iroh put a hand on her shoulder and tried to get her to leave, but she shook her head. The reporters were ready to go in for the kill.

"I didn't realize that Iroh was letting his woman speak for him, now!"

Iroh then stepped up to the podium. "I'd very much recommend not angering me or Lu Huo, also known as my second-in-command and my adviser in everything military and political. She is not news fodder for you to feed on. She is a woman to be respected and that is all you need to know. Now, if you'll excuse me, neither of us have anything more to say."

General Iroh walked away with this 'Lu Huo,' who looked a little more than flustered as he grabbed her arm and practically dragged her with him. The reporters, only slightly embarrassed, started to clear and get their stories to print. A few of them were going to let this woman drop, but others, from the seedier magazines, were going to milk her for all she was worth!

HHH

"They're animals!" I was taking down my hair irately when Iroh and I walked into the suite that we shared together in the Republic City Four Elements Hotel and Resort. We'd just been given it as we were diplomats from a foreign country. Iroh didn't even have to pay! Normally I would have balked at the idea of rooming with him, but, in the one suite, there were three fully-furnished bedrooms (each one larger than my house back in Jang-Hui,) each with its own bathroom. Between them was a living area, kitchen, and study for both of us to do paperwork in.

Iroh laughed and started taking his ceremonial coat off, just leaving him in a white wife-beater and his training pants. His perfect, rippling arms flexed and I couldn't help but blush. I'd seen him in less but my attraction to him still surprised me. So did his laugh. I raised an eyebrow at him and waited to hear exactly what was so funny. "You just have to learn how to talk to them. You did fine until they started attacking you."

I bristled at the comment and took off my own ceremonial top, leaving me in the same tank top he wore. "I'm working on it! It's not like there's some manual I can read on how to deal with reporters. Even you used to tell me to say as little as possible, but—" I turned and caught him giving me some strange look. The way he stared at me made me wonder if I had something on my face or if there was a huge hole in my top.

He shook himself out of it and the look was gone as soon as I'd seen it. "You did good, kid—Huo. You did good, Huo." He quickly gave me a pat on the shoulder and made his way into his room.

That was weird. It'd taken a while, but he'd finally stopped calling me 'kid.' He messed up every so often, especially when we practiced Firebending and hand-to-hand, but he was getting better. I just sighed and sat down, running my hands through my hair and trying to get the knots out. "Yeah, I know. Thanks. They just...they can really get under your skin!"

"The Fire Nation jab got to me a little. Just forget about it and don't worry."

I shot a wry glance in his direction as I gave up and finally took a comb to my hair. "I figured it would be the one about letting a woman speak for you. Because technically—" One of his shoes came out of nowhere and knocked me off the edge of the chair I'd been perched on. The smell hit me just as quick. "Hey, watch it! Those things are dangerous!"

"My grandfather says I get that from my great-great uncle." I could hear the laughter in his voice. I was getting ready to reciprocate when he interrupted me. "Ready to spar?"

I hadn't even finished combing out my hair. I stood up and stretched, a little sore from not having exercised in a while. I glanced over at the study to see all of the books that I still had to read through for classes tomorrow. "I'm not sure, Iroh. I've got a test on Earth Kingdom history and culture tomorrow and a foot-long paper to write by the end of the week."

He came out of his room, shirtless, running a towel across his head full of hair. Light glinted off his skin in a delicious way. My breath caught in my throat and I couldn't look away. "You've been neglecting your Firebending forms. You can't put all of your efforts into one aspect of your training."

I was stretched too thin with everything Iroh had me doing. I was speaking for him at public events, sitting in on presidential debates, going to Ba Sing Se University for Anthropology and Political studies, and doing so much paperwork that I practically breathed paper from my lungs. I could feel exhaustion creeping in. "I...I guess we can train. Let me get ready."

III

He's getting sloppy. Iroh had to shake his head and sidestep a blast of fire. She. She's getting sloppy. Huo threw out punches, but she didn't have her heart behind them.

The two of them traded blows in the serenity courtyard behind the hotel. They were the only two out there, as it was nearing dinner time and most sane people were inside with their families. The setting spring sun lit their battle only when their fire didn't. A beautiful fountain gurgled to their left and greenery stopped them from being too wild with their bending.

Iroh threw out a punch and heard a female yelp come from Huo's direction. Even after three months, he found it difficult to remember that she was a girl and not the ship's boy that he remembered so fondly. The curve of her hip or the lilt in her voice made him realize his mistake each time.

"Watch it," her very feminine voice growled out as she emerged from a wall of smoke. Her shirt was singed across the waist, leaving the pale skin underneath bare. "I'm burned enough without you adding to it."

"Pay attention and you won't get burned." The pouting Huo almost looked cute until she threw a punch of fire directly at his face. He leaned backwards, dodging the blast only as he watched it fly over his head. He stood back up straight and gave her a little glare.

"Yeah, pay attention!" Her smirk was contagious. She brought her hands up, jumped forwards, and brought her arms down in front of her, bending two waves of flame in each hand that came together to shoot forward at him.

Blue and red collided into a wall of fire. As the flames died down, Iroh leaped forward on a jet of electricity and kicked, shooting a blast of fire. He performed three spinning kicks, sending out a wave of fire toward his protege each time.

Huo punched out, releasing a powerful stream of fire. It collided with Iroh's, both so powerful that the streams slipped to either side. Huo continued her blast of fire while keeping the enormous blue flames on her other side at bay, slowly sliding backward.

Iroh pressed a little harder, knowing her limits, and saw her foot slide back. She gasped and pivoted her foot to try and strengthen her stance. He pressed harder again, his fire making contact and sending her flying. She was only down for what felt like a second.

Rolling on her back and kicking back up into the air, she simultaneously shot at him. Good reversal. Iroh evaded by leaping up onto some fire skis and stomping his foot, making small bursts of flame erupt from the sides. Just before the attack hit, Huo spun her body in a circle and thrust her palms out to the sides, creating a wall of flame that held the blasts at bay.

Iroh jumped into a rafter, using it to watch the field and to catch his breath. The wall of flame dissipated and Huo was nowhere to be found. Only a wisp of smoke stood where she once had. He took a few deep breaths and searched for her heat signature, knowing that if he couldn't see her, he'd still be able to sense her. He jumped out of the way just in time as a plume of flame engorged the area that he'd just been occupying.

Iroh opened his fist and punched forward with the other, two immense fireballs launched at her, spiraling and intertwining to create one massive fireball. Huo's eyes widened in fear. Before it hit her, she dodged to the right on a jet of electricity. She thrust herself forwards while in the air, rocketing over the ground on jets of blue from her hands and feet. She punched twice, launching two huge red fire blasts.

Iroh placed his hands near the ground and shot a blast, thrusting himself into the air and avoiding one of her attacks. As he did this, he spun in the air and swung his heel downward, which created an arc of flame that blocked the second blast.

Huo crouched, arms extended forward as blue and red flames surrounding the two of them. She was breathing heavily and her hair had fallen from its topknot. Her chest heaved against the ash-smudged white training top she wore and her pants had caught fire a few places. He only had a few moments to admire what he saw before Huo banked to the right, punching out a few test shots as she circled him.

Iroh swept his leg across the ground, creating a powerful ring of fire that expanded outward and surrounded her. She tried to stop herself and block his attack with a shield of lightning, but she was too slow and his fire connected with her. Her gasp of pain came seconds before she pounced at him, coming in close enough to use fire daggers in what seemed like a personal vendetta.

"Don't let your anger cloud you judgment," he breathed heavily as he used his wrist cuffs to block her attacks. Up close, he saw that she looked tired. Exhausted, actually. His guilt distracted him for a moment too long and she pounced, making them roll across the ground in a scuffle.

"Don't think too much, Iroh," she grunted as she reached for his wrists to pin him down with, "or you'll get distracted." She managed to grab them before he bucked his hips and turned the table on them. She struggled under his heavier frame until she realized that she had to concede.

"Call it," he said as he looked into her pretty tan eyes. She half glared, half pouted at him in a way that reminded of him of when she'd been posing as a boy and he wouldn't give that boy his piece of chocolate cake. He glared right back in an admonishing way. "Huo..."

"Fine, you win," she conceded, lying limp on the ground and pouting over his shoulder. He laughed and smiled at that full lower lip that pushed outwards, the dip of her dark, slightly wild eyebrows, and the pink flush that covered her low cheekbones. "Well? Let me up!"

With a start, he realized that he was straddling her and still held her wrists pinned to the dirt. He stood up and coughed under his breath, a little embarrassed that he'd been in that position with his adviser. At least no one was around to see that. "Right."

She looked completely exhausted. "You know what? I'll just lie here a bit." He felt guilty. She was getting soft, though, so he couldn't let up. She'd lost a lot of muscle mass from having to rest from her injuries and she hadn't been practicing nearly as much as she should have been. Still, he felt bad for her. She was in the prime of her life and she deserved a little time off.

He determined then that he would take her out to experience something that she never had before. Wine tasting? No, Huo doesn't care much for liquor. What was it she said she used to like? Ah, that's right. Probending. "Get some rest, kid," he said before he could stop himself. He leaned over her body, blocking the sun from her view. "You're going to need it." He was already planning a day off for Huo. She deserved it, after all.