5 years earlier…

Zuko sulked as he walked to the register to ring up the old man who had just finished his tea. 'Uncle, table 2 wants 1 jasmine and one green'

'Zuko you know you could smile at the customer, they like it'

He gave the customer his change and glared at Uncle Iroh. Zuko didn't understand how his uncle could have such a cheerful disposition. Here they were, an ex-Fire Nation army General and a Banished Prince serving tea to rude, smelly earth kingdom peasants. Zuko's Uncle Iroh was more that happy to take orders from customers and to serve them like a common peasant. However the young prince showed much reluctance to serving people. He missed the days when he was the one giving orders and being served. The other way around didn't suit him well. Ever since he escaped from Azula, Prince Zuko had been living in filth, constantly moving around trying to escape, like a rat on the run from a cat. Now that he and his uncle had made it to Ba Sing Se they were safe…for now. His uncle was trying to make the best of their fortune and live a happy penniless life, but for zuko it just wasnt good enough. He missed his home, and his honor.

Ever since the day of his banishment life had been anything but good to him.

"AHEM"

Zuko was jolted from his brooding daydream by the miffed old man standing on the other side of the counter. What did he want. He already gave the jerk his money. Why doesn't he just thank him and get his greasy ass out of here. The man gave him a dirty demeaning look. Zuko gave him a look right back.

'What'

'Well, ive been waiting to get my change back' the man said sternly

'I just handed it to you'

'No you didn't'
'Yea I did'

'No you didn't, I think I would know'

Zuko just stared at him in disbelief that the man would actually think that he was dumb enough to believe he didn't give him the money he owed him.

'I gave you your change back, SIR' Zuko replied.

'I want my change, boy. You owe me 2.50' (using American $)

'And I said I gave you your 2. Fucking .50 back, old man. Now if you will kindly leave, NOW'. Zuko didn't like where this was going, he knew that it was going to get ugly.

Now that made the man angry 'excuse me!'

'I said leave!'

'Are you deaf boy, Im not leaving until I get my money back'

'Are YOU deaf sir? I said piss off!'

'You filthy cheating peasant'

Zuko got several centimeters from the mans face. The guy was pretty hefty. He was just barely taller than Zuko, dressed in fine attire, finer than his anyway. He was not an attractive guy and it made Zuko queasy being so close to him. the guy had greasy black hair and a 3 o'clock shadow which did a bad job of disguising his boils and bad blemishes. His teeth were tainted and he had a healing cut on his chin (probably from trying to shave that mess of a face). Just looking at the bastard made Zuko want to kick his ass. He knew he could take him on and win easily.

'Are you calling me a liar'

'Is there a problem here sir' if Iroh hadn't intervened zuko would have defiantly taken a punch at the pompous idiot.

The man looked at Iroh with an irritated expression. He obviously wanted to take a whack at zuko as well. 'Yea! I demand you fire this son of a bitch immeadiatly'

Zuko scowled at the man.

Iroh just looked calmly between the two gentlemen who were on the verge of eating each others faces off (sounds like im talking about a catfight)'Im sorry, but if you don't mind me asking, for what reason do you want my nephew fired'

'The little punk is cheating me out of my money'

'I just gave you your fucking money, ass hole!!!!" Zuko shouted

Iroh payed no attention to his nephew as he reached into the register and pulled out the correct change that Zuko just gave the irritating old man. 'I apologize for my nephews behavior' he began then placed a hand over his mouth so Zuko couldn't see his lips, 'He just got out of a bad relationship and is having a bad day'

Zuko stared in disbelief at his uncle. Why on earth would he say such a stupid thing!!! GOD DAMNIT!!!!!! Why did the world hate him so much! (emo!)

In a fit of frustration Zuko turned around sharply and stormed out through the back of the store. He needed some fresh air.

'Stop!! Go away'

'awe comeon, little one, we dont bite'

'Get off me, GIVE THAT BACK!'

'What? are you afraid were gonna hurt your dolly here?'

'Leave nancy alone!"

Sai curled her lip at the scene in front of her. 3 men, well over 20, were surrounding a poor little girl poking her, making fun of her dress and doll and pretty much torturing the poor girl. They now had the child on her knees begging for he little doll back. They just laughed at her and kicked mud in her poor, tear streaked face.

The little girl sat on the ground crying as the men passed the doll between them.

"Hey!" Sai interrupt as she ran up to the huddled group around the girl. She couldn't help it. She had to intervene and come to the girls rescue. It was in her nature to help people, especially those weaker than her.

"If I were you, I would give the girl back what you took'

The ass holes just looked at her. They had the most idiotic looks on their faces, either they didn't understand what she just said or they couldn't believe she had the guts to confront them.

The man clutching the dolls head was the first to make a move. His hair had obviously not been washed in quite a while and he smelled like oysters. In one hand he clutched the dolls head and he was flexing the other as if to warm it up for a good slap across the face.

"O really? and who is going to stop us. You?'

'Well, I don't see anyone else, do you?

The three guys began to laugh. The one with the doll and the taller of the other two guys left the small girl with the short stocky boy and began to approach her. She didn't budge.

The two guys formed a circle around her, the tall one behind her and the man with the doll in front of her. "Well, if you want the doll' the guy in front of her said. Then lifted up the doll in front of her face, 'take it…"

Sai looked at the doll and then at the girl being pinned to the ground by the fat one. The poor girl had mud on her face, and her eyes were red and puffy from all the tears. The girl was looking at Sai absolutely petrified. She couldn't have been any older than 7 or 8, and these puss heads had nothing better to do than to tease and torture the poor girl. Now they had turned their attention on Sai, probably figuring that she would be much more of a good time.

'Hey! Hello? The doll is right here' the guy broke Sai's train of thought by swinging the doll in front of her face violently. 'You want the damn thing, you're gonna have to take it'

Sai made an attempt to grab the doll, but like she expected the guy snatched it out of the way. He laughed 'to slow'. Sai tried again, really not putting forth any noticeable effort, and the guy pulled the doll away again. This was getting boring.

'Awww come on sweetie?, giving up already?' they all began to laugh.

The tall guy behind made a move and grabbed her arms. 'Lets have a little bit of fun with this one then?' They all laughed again. God, they had the most obscene laughs. They were cruel and loud. Then the guy pinning the little girl twisted her arm making the poor thing cry in pain. If Sai was going to do something she had to do it quickly. She had held out long enough, they all thought she was a weak little hero, now it was time to defy their expectations.

Without wasting another second, Sai lifted up her leg and stepped as hard as she could on the tall guy behind hers foot. The man let out a yelp and let go of her arms she then elbowed him in the rib causing him to double over in pain. The guy holding the doll mad a step towards her. Stupid move on his part, she kneed him in the groin and as he fell to the ground clutching his balls. She snatched the doll from his hand. The fat guy stood up from holding the girl and took what he thought was an effective fighting stance. She didn't have time for this. The tall guy had already proceeded to stand up. Sai kicked the fat one in the chest. He stumbled backwards and Sai grabbed the girl from the ground and they ran as fast as they could out of the ally and into the streets, with the 3 boys running after them.

Prince Zuko was lost in thought. He thought of his past and his future. He didn't want to be a peasant in the earth kingdom for the rest of his life. He didn't want to serve tea for the rest of his days. He couldn't find any satisfaction in it like his uncle could. Uncle Iroh was more than happy to be serving tea day after day. Zuko knew if that was going to be his fate he would never be happy again.

Zuko focused all his attention on the small rock he was kicking around the semi- crowded street. He was aware of the man selling bread on the other side of the road, and the lady in front of him with bags of groceries. However he was not aware of the shouts that here coming from in front of him as a young woman and a small girl pushed their way passed civilians and merchants. He was not aware of the gang of 3 boys running after them. He didn't notice when the lady in front of him dropped her groceries and screamed obscenities at them. Zuko was aware however of the soft body running into him forcefully and knocking him over. Zuko hit the ground with something laying on his chest. It was soft and warm. It was a girl he realized. The girl on top of him gently got up off him and shook her head as if to rattle her brain back into the proper spot. Half of her body was laying next to his and the rest was hovering above him being supported by her long arms. The girl turned her head towards him and her brown eyes met his. Zuko looked at the person lying suggestively on top of him. She was a pretty girl. Her long dark hair was pulled back half up half up so only her bangs hung in her face and the rest of her hair fell around her face forming a canopy above him. She had ivory skin like his and chocolate cat-like eyes. Although she was very exotic and striking the one thing that grabbed his attention the most was that she had the most sensuous lips he had ever seen. They were full and the perfect shade of dark pink. Then those lips began to move.

'Im sorry, are you okay?' Zuko really didn't know what to do. Should he move? Should he say something? Then the little girl standing next to them screamed something about 3 guys and something along the lines of 'here they come!"

The girl on top of him jerked her head back to see 3 brutish men scrambling in their direction past the crowd. She appologized again and quickly got up and took of running with the little girl. Zuko stood up and watched her run. Now that he had been broken out of his brooding trance he was fully aware of the 3 guys running after the girls. As the 3 ran past him he held out his foot and successfully tripped the middle runner. As he fell he brought the other two down with him. Zuko smiled to himself and proceeded to walk away, thinking that they didn't notice it was he who tripped them. He was wrong.

'HEY!' Zuko stopped and turned at the 3 retards scrambling to get up from their heap in the middle of the street. The guy he tripped was the first to get up and advance on him. "Whats your problem punk!?!' Zuko was seriously getting tired of being called that.

'What?'

'Don't fuck with me! You fucking knocked me over dumbass'

'Well then you should watch where your going retard!'

Zuko guessed that made the guy angry because he then took a swing at him, but zuko of course having far more fighting experience than probably anyone in this god forsaken town, easily dodged it. He took another swing and missed again, then the other two brutes tried to join in. This was childs play to zuko and knew he could fight all 3 blindfolded and still win. But not now. Apparently the small fight had now begun to drawn a crowd and the last thing Zuko and his uncle needed was exposure!!

Zuko needed to end the fight quickly or take it somewhere else to finish it. With a few fast punches he successfully knocked the 3 men out of his way and he ran, not realizing he was running in the same direction as the girls. He ran quickly with the 3 men not to far behind him. Zuko first thought of running into the tea shop but decided against it. He knew his uncle wouldn't approve of his fighting while they were 'undercover'. He ran passed the coffee shop and around a corner. The 3 men still followed him. He needed to lose them. As zuko ran another corner he was jerked back by and unknown force. His first reaction was to attack but something in his brain said "STOP, NO FIGHT!" the force pulled him into an ally way and held him so that he was pressing it between him and the wall. Zuko noted that the thing he was trapping against the wall was soft and he looked down to see a head of dark hair. The head looked up at Zuko and the same familiar brown eyes met his. It was the girl that knocked him over. Zuko tried to pull away from her and the akward position they were in but she held him tighter. She held a finger to her lips to signal him to be quiet and smiled. Then they heard the footsteps of the 3 guys chasing them. The girl tensed up and Zuko involuntarily pressed her harder against the wall as if to hide her. The 3 guys ran passed them completely not noticing they were even there. As soon as they were a few feet away and still running the girl he had captive between him and the wall poked her head out from behind the wall to watch the idiots run. Zuko let her go and turned around to watch too.

She laughed. 'well that was fun'. Zuko just looked at her as she turned around to get the girl who was huddled on the ground clutching a doll for dear life. 'its okay sweetheart' she whispered gently as she coaxed the girl to stand. 'the bad men are gone, see that boy there saved us' Zuko continued to stare. The little girl stood and smiled at him 'thank you'. Then the older one turned to him and smiled 'Yes thank you so much, I saw what you did to the guys and we really appreciate it, not many people would step in like that.'

'ummm, your welcome' they stood there staring at eachother. Zuko looked at her up and down and she did the same to him. She really was very pretty. She was tall but not as tall as him. The top of her head came up to about the middle of his head. She had a lean, curvy figure dressed in purple and green. Not the usual Ba Sing Se colors worn. It was unique.

She broke the odd silence to introduce herself. 'o, umm, my name is Sai by the way' she said as she reached out her hand.

'Lee' he said giving her his fake name as he took her hand and gave short bow. She had really soft hands.

Sai turned to introduce the young girl ' and this is Miri' the girl tugged on Sai's purple skirt and made an'ah-hem' sound. 'O yeah, and this is her doll Nancy'. The girl held up her doll to Zuko. Zuko took the doll presented to him. It was just a poorly hand made doll. The girl was probably just a peasant. She was dirty and poorly dressed. It amazed him that this girl helped the child, for no reason.

Zuko gave the doll back and stood there akwardly 'umm, I should go' he said and turned to walk away.

'Wait' Sai said. She grabbed his hand to stop him. This girl had no idea of what the meaning of personal space was. She just touched him in the most inappropriate ways. First falling and laying on top of him, then having him pin her against a wall, now she was holding his hand.

Sai must have noticed Zuko's discomfort because she let go of her hand

'Umm I have to take Miri home and I was wondering if you would walk with us'

Zukos eyebrow shot upward. SHE wanted HIM to walk with her, a total stranger. Zuko almost said yes but then remembered his uncle back at the tea shop.

'Umm I don't know, I kinda have to get back to work'

'O…ok then, umm I guess ill see you around then?'

'Uhhh, yea"

Why was Zuko so nervous talking to her. She made him forget everything and turned him into a babbling idiot.

'K bye' Sai turned and began to walk away.

'Bye-bye Lee' Miri said as she waved at him.

Zuko lifted his hand and watched the two girls walk down the street.

Zuko started walking in the oposite direction back to the tea shop. Then suddenly stopped! What was he doing! He let them walk ALONE! He let them walk in the same direction that those jerks were headed…ALONE! Zuko turned around immediately and started running after Sai and Miri. He didn't know why he cared so much about them. He just met them. But the better half of him wanted to make sure that the girls were going to be safe.

Sai couldn't believe the day she had had so far. It was one of the more off beat days shed had in a while. First with the 3 ass holes, and the running and that poor boy she knocked over. She hoped he didn't hate her for that.

Could not get the image of Lee out of her mind. When she so rudely ran into him she was flustered when she actually saw his face. He was Pale with Dark hair and very handsome. She had no idea that he would fight off those clumsy idiots chasing them. And by himself to! She remembered getting off him and running as fast as she could and as soon as she rounded the first corner she peeked around to see Lee and the first man who had held the doll, yelling at eachother. Apparently he had tripped him and he was very upset about the whole thing. And then they had started to fight. The doll guy threw punches like a rag doll. Very weak and sloppy. Lee easily dodged every one. Then the other two guys got up from the ground and they had cirlcled Lee all trying to lay a punch on him, But Lee dodged every attack or advance they made. As soon as a small crowd had formed Lee, so quickly Sai almost missed it, hit all 3 men to the ground and ran in her direction. She had quickly grabbed Miri and continued to run, past a tea shop, and around another corner into a hidden ally where she stopped to catch her breath. Sai had then heard Lee's running footsteps and as soon as he ran passed she had grabbed him and pulled him into the ally with her and Miri. She could tell that he was shocked, but as soon as he had seen her face, he relaxed a bit. Sai remembered holding him against her, enjoying the feel of his body. He must have been a fighter or in the army at one point because he had the most rock hard body she had ever felt. Of course she hadn't held many bodies against her like that. When Sai heard the footsteps of the 3 men Lee had pressed his body harder against her, pinning her against the wall and his body. She held his body against hers out of fear. She remembered praying the men didn't find them. Poor Miri was sitting, huddled into a ball next to them. They were lucky and they weren't caught. When he let go of her, it was then that she had really noticed the ugly scar across his face. She had seen it when she landed on him but didn't really notice it. She was to busy trying not to get her ass caught. But now that they were safe she had taken the opportunity to take a real good look at him. He was very handsome with the exception of the scar marring the left side of his face. He was tall and wore a green robe. It was nice, it had made her feel extremely underdressed. She was sad when he turned down her offer to walk Miri home. She didn't know why, they just met. But he was so cute.

Sai was snapped out of her trance by Miri screaming excitedly 'Look! Look, Sai!, its Lee!' Sai turned around to see zuko heading towards them. When he got close enough Miri smiled 'did you change your mind?'

Lee looked at her, he obviously wasn't used to children. Then he looked at Sai. They just stared at each other, which didn't bother Sai at all. (she liked looking at him)

'Uhhhh yea' he started, then he quickly added 'I mean, I think I should come along, you know, in case those guys show up again'

Sai hadn't even realized they were headed in the same direction as the 3 jerks. She blushed and smiled.

'Thank you' she then turned to the little girl. 'Ok, lead the way Miri'

And all 3 of them walked down the dirt road, with Miri leading the way and Sai and Lee following.