A/N: Well, I only got 2 reviews for the last chapter . But I'm still updating Captured Trust :D I just checked my story stats, and found out that I have about 800 hits! Please leave more reviews! Thank you!
I've also made my chapters longer and a little better, so enjoy! :D
On to Chapter 5!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything
Captured Trust Chapter Five: Loss
As all firebenders did, Zuko woke at the crack of dawn. His muscles ached from being chained up the whole night.
Remembering Katara's words the previous day, the firebender expected to train the Avatar at dawn. Zuko drew his knees to his chest and rested his head as he waited for someone to arrive at his cell door to let him out.
Seconds passed to minutes, which slowly became hours. When he finally figured the Avatar's group probably slept in, he growled in frustration. The only thing he could really do in his puny cell was wait. Soon, the banished prince got tired of staring at his knees and looked at his surroundings instead.
Zuko turned his head to stare at a black dot at the corner of one of the cell walls. When he squinted his eyes, the prince realized he was looking at the small form of a spider-fly, an insect native to the Air Nation. Zuko remembered the days he spent as a little child, sitting on his mother's lap, listening to her describing ancient insects such as the one he stared at now, thirteen years later. He watched as the spider-fly wove an intricate design in its web, remembering faintly the time when he saw a spider-fly in one of his mother's picture books.
The eight legs of the spider-fly moved rhythmically, each one of the furry legs weaving in and out in different directions. A thin strand of web shot out of each of the spider-fly's legs, coming together to form a pattern on the web. In and out, out and in. The spider-fly's legs worked in perfect harmony, stopping only when an unsuspecting dragonfly flew into its trap.
Zuko was so into the spider-fly that he didn't notice Katara slowly walking up to his cell, keys in one of her free hands.
Katara walked up to the fire prince's cell, holding the keys Aang had found inside of the temple. Out of all the people in the Gang, she had to let Zuko out of his cell. Probably because Sokka's still snoozing, Toph can't see, and Aang convinced me to go. She thought.
As she approached the prince, the waterbender noticed he was staring not at her, but a small dot on the wall. When she stepped closer to the cell door to get a closer look at the mysterious insect, the prince didn't even acknowledge her presence. Silently, Katara laughed to herself. The Fire Prince, interested in a disgusting, filthy insect? Katara soon realized that she couldn't hold the laugh in any longer, and a soft chuckle erupted from her throat.
When Zuko heard the soft laughter behind him, he jerked around to face a laughing Katara. Slightly flustered, he stared at her, a scowl planted on his face.
"I don't recall knowing that Your Majesty was into filthy things like bugs." Katara stated with a smirk playing at her lips.
"Says the person who woke up five hours late," Zuko retorted.
"Well, excuse me, Mr. Fire Prince, but not all of us are firebenders. We can just 'rise with the sun'."
"Technically, the Avatar -"
"Aang doesn't count!" Katara shouted as her cheeks tinged slightly. Realizing that she had almost had a pleasant argument with her most hated enemy, she regained her composture and added in a lower voice, "I'm letting you out now, and don't try anything."
Zuko immediately stopped smirking and sighed as he watched the waterbender unlocked his cuffs. Out of all the time he had spent at the Air Temple, he had finally managed to have some "fun". Arguing with Katara gave him a renewed energy, something he never felt anytime else. When the last cuff fell to the ground, Zuko grunted as he stretched his aching muscles, which felt stiff when he flexed them.
Mildly embarrassed at the sight of Zuko flexing, Katara coughed loudly to get his attention. When Zuko lifted his head to look at her once again, he caught her walking out of the cell, motioning for him to follow. Obediently, he followed the waterbender out of the buildings and into a small clearing at the edge of the Air Temple. The Avatar was already at the clearing, sitting on a small block of cement near the side of the temple. Aang stared at Zuko with a goofy grin plastered on his face.
"Can we start the firebending lesson now, Sifu Hotman?"
"Don't call me that," Zuko muttered under his breath, staring at the smiling boy in front of his.
"I'll be watching from here," Katara said, walking a short distance away from the prince and the airbender before sitting on a block similar to Aang's.
"Great!" Aang cried, grinning ear to ear, "You'll be able to see my first firebending tricks!"
Zuko groaned. Teaching the playful Avatar was going to be much harder than he thought.
"Enough with the chit chat, we're starting your lesson." He said while dragging the airbender to face him.
"Fire is a dangerous element. It will be hard to control and bend, " Zuko said, turning his head so the scarred side of his face could be seen.
Aang gulped, rubbing his hands nervously in his lap.
"Jeong Jeong told me that too. Even after he warned me, I burned Katara." The young monk dropped his head at the memory.
Jeong Jeong the Deserter? Zuko thought. The Avatar sure had great teachers.
"Well, show me how much fire you can produce, any amount you can make," Zuko commander sternly while crossing his arms.
The Avatar jumped lightly off the block and took a firebending stance that he had learned from Jeong Jeong. Sweat poured out of his body as he called the fire within himself. Taking a deep breath, Aang pushed his arm out ferociously, expecting a burst of flame. Instead, a small poof of smoke bursted from his palm. Laughing nervously, Aang stepped back in defeat.
"I think I need a little more instruction, perhaps a demonstration?" he said to Zuko, who sighed in disappointment at his pupil's efforts.
"Good idea, then you better step back," Zuko replied.
Aang took a few steps back then faced his teacher. The firebender took a stance similar to the one he had done a few minutes ago. Zuko took a small breath, then threw his hand out, producing a flame the size of Momo. An awkward silence followed, and Aang clapped slowly, unsure of what to do.
"What? That was the worst firebending I've ever seen!" Zuko yelled angrily.
"Well, I thought it was pretty good-" Aang said.
"DON'T PATRONIZE ME! You know what it's supposed to look like!" he yelled, "ARGH! Why is this happening to me?"
In frustration, Zuko ripped off his shirt and practiced a few of his advanced firebending forms. Each of the moves he tried unfortunately ended in a puny burst of fire. In the end, it looked as if the prince was trying to make a comedic display of poofs of fire.
Katara sat, watching the fire prince shoot out pathetic flames. She almost laughed, but caught herself before doing so. Zuko had suddenly lost his firebending, but why?
While she was still contemplating the question, the waterbender saw Zuko strip off his shirt. She gasped at the sight of his well-built body and muscular form. Katara flushed madly, having seen a shirtless Zuko.
She had never actually seen many shirtless men, aside from Aang or Sokka, who didn't really have any muscles yet. Still, Katara never had seen anyone so muscled and strong. Even the Watertribe men back at the Sourthern Water Tribe never boasted muscles like Zuko's.
Still flushing, Katara was glad that no one noticed her, at least until Sokka came striding by, apple in hand.
"Hey sis, how's the guarding going?" the warrior said, munching. Noticing her flush, he asked, "Why's your face so red? Is it from the heat?"
Katara nodded violently before stammering, "I..I think I'm going to go cook us some dinner now!"
She ran back into the buildings, and Sokka took her spot on the block.
"Hmm…What's wrong with her?" he questioned.
"Whatever, it's my shift now anyways. I gotta guard the Jerkbender now. Ha! Jerkbenders!" Sokka laughed at his own joke, memories of Katara's mysterious attitude slowly forgotten.
While stirring the contents of the soup, Katara moved her arms gracefully to waterbend the soup into ten bowls, for all the people in the Gang, Momo and Appa. Toph, Teo, Haru, and The Duke sat around a flickering fire as they waited for their dinner. Katara sent the bowls toward the four people around the fire and bended the soup into Appa's mouth. Momo took its bowl and chattered nosily as it slurped the contents of the soup.
"Has anyone seen Aang, Zuko, and Sokka? They've been gone all afternoon," Haru asked while drinking his soup.
"Nope," Teo and The Duke answered in unison.
"Hmm…I think I hear them coming right now," Toph stated, pointing her foot in the direction of the clearing.
Sure enough, Aang, Sokka, and a grumpy Zuko emerged from the clearing. At the sight of the prince, Katara flushed as she remembered the afternoon's events. Zuko didn't notice her, and grumbled.
"I've lost my stuff," he said sadly, dropping his head in shame.
"What? I haven't touched your stuff!" Sokka cried, raising his hands.
"No, my firebending," Zuko said gruffly.
Katara had been tuning out the entire conversation until she heard that Zuko had lost his firebending.
"Hahaha!" she laughed, clutching her chest.
"What's so funny?" Zuko said, glaring daggers at her.
"Well, it would have been much better for us if you'd just lost your firebending a long time ago, when you were attacking us!"
"I don't see how that's funny," The Duke whispered to Teo, out of earshot.
"But that means I can't teach the Avatar firebending anymore, unless I can somehow "magically" regain my firebending again," Zuko said, frustrated, "That also means you guys have to find another teacher for him."
With that, Zuko turned to leave the Gang to go back to his cell again. However, as he stepped away from the group, Aang clung to his arm, holding tightly.
"What?" the prince asked, slightly annoyed.
"Maybe we can get your firebending back!" the monk cried, clinging onto his arm, "Don't leave!"
"Yeah, you're still our prisoner, remember?" Sokka said.
"Fine, but do you you have any idea how to do that?" Zuko asked, hopeful for an answer.
"Actually, no." Aang said sheepishly.
When Zuko slapped his forehead, Aang added quickly, "But I think if you trace back to firebending's original sources, you might be able to find your firebending again."
Thinking hard, Zuko tried to once again recall the lessons he had as a child in the Fire Nation schools. He recalled reading a history book covering the ancient history of the Fire Nation. Slowly remembering a picture of a tanned man with red warrior paint and feathers in his hair, he gasped.
"The Sun Warriors," Zuko said.
A/N: That concludes the long chapter 5! :D Hope you like it! The Next chapter will contain some more parts from the 'Firebending Masters' before the plot starts again. Remember, Katara still 'hates' Zuko for what he did. Just because she admires his body doesn't mean she forgives him. XD
Did you like this chapter? Then review!
On another note, I will not update until I receive more than 20 reviews.(That shouldn't be too hard XD)
(edit)
Added a little bit more to the story to clear up some questions. :P
Anyways, R&R! :D Until next time! :3