Burning Bright

Part II

Zuko could still not form one cohesive train of thought after seeing Jin earthbend. He was not sure why this struck to him as something unusual, unbelievable even. Perhaps it was because when he thought of Jin, always ever so cheerful and happy, he thought of someone so innocent and defenseless. Above them, the gray sky had thinned slightly, although the rain continued to pour down upon them in big, heavy drops. Jin had stood there shell shocked with the mud she was bending still hanging in midair. Then her hands became limp and the mud dropped from the air and splattered unto the wet, sloppy ground. She stared at him for awhile, her once bright and cheerful eyes narrowed. Then in one swift and wordless motion, Jin turned away from him and ran making small wet noises as her feet hit the ground.

Zuko stood there as he watched Jin run away from him, her figure becoming smaller and smaller as she speedily distanced herself from him. He was immediately overcome with a sense of irony. It was now him being left alone in the middle of nowhere.

He could not understand why he was stagnant and why he could not force himself to move. Curiosity was burning inside of him. Zuko realized that he had been standing under the rain for quite awhile and was aware that his only option as of now was to go back to the teashop considering the fact that pursuing Jin for some answers seemed so brash and idiotic on the account that it was such a small matter. It seemed as if Jin didn't want to talk about it and by the expression of her face, it seemed as if Zuko had just discovered some sort of monumental secret though he couldn't understand why that was so.

Zuko sighed and started his long and weary walk back to the teashop. The gray blanket that was enveloping the sky now had a few patches of sunlight and the rain had stopped altogether. Mud was splattered all over his clothes, the rain had left his hair wet, and water had seeped into his shoes, making wet, splashy noises with every step he took. He took the crumpled bag of tea leaves he had bought and saw that they were now completely unusable since the juice was completely drawn out from them because they had been drenched in water for such a long time.

He arrived at the shop where Pao was impatiently waiting for him. He yelled at Zuko for twenty minutes before allowing him to go to the back to clean up. Zuko did not bother to wipe the mud which was encrusted in his shoes away. Instead, he stormed to the back leaving a trail of muddied footprints behind him. Pao could only groan in protest.

When Zuko entered the backroom, Iroh was already there brewing some tea. Noticing the foul way Zuko entered, Iroh lightly commented, "The Great Tea Server of Ba Sing Se has returned! It was rather rude of you to not entertain Jin. She very much wanted to see you…."

Zuko didn't answer him. Instead he stomped his way to the tea jars and slammed the oolong tea leaves he bought into them. Then he silently padded his way to the corner where he proceeded to scrape the mud of his clothes.

Iroh knew that Jin and the Date seemed to be an extremely touchy subject for Zuko but he couldn't help poking a bit of fun. "You know Prince Zuko, she was very taken with you. She seemed to so pleased with your date—''

"Uncle, what do you know about earthbenders?" Zuko asked suddenly, interrupting Iroh's rant. He had spent the last few seconds pondering on why Jin left so hastily—and without saying something to him too. Why did it seem like such a big deal that he found out that she was able to bend? Jin was acting as if she had committed some crime and now some police officer had busted her. Apparently she did not want Zuko to find out that she was a bender for some unknown reason.

"Well….from my experience….Earthbenders are extremely patient. They observe something called neutral jing, which involves waiting and listening for the right moment to strike, and when that moment comes, acting decisively. Earthbenders often endure their enemies' attacks until the right opportunity to counterattack reveals itself, and then they strike with unyielding force. Earthbending comes in varied—''

"No…..Earthbenders!" Zuko repeated, as he flicked some mud off his cuffs.

"What?"

"I want to know about Earthbenders uncle! Specifically, about Earthbenders here in Ba Sing Se!" Zuko hissed.

Suddenly Pao burst in into the backroom, his face outlined with annoyance and a rug riddled with mud clamped in his hand. Zuko froze in place while Iroh continued to brew, whistling nonchalantly as he checked the teapot.

"I've had enough of your nephew's nonsense! He's been out for an hour doing Spirits-knows-what, he comes back sopping wet and then he trails mud all over my tea shop floor!" Pao ranted hysterically. Then, he strode towards Iroh and said in a frenzied voice, "I suggest you keep your nephew under control! For all I know he could be wasting precious time with his girlfriend instead of working!"

Before Zuko could snap into another outburst, Iroh exhaled deeply and sighed, "If only. If only. You have no idea how much I wish for that to happen…."

"Just get back to work!" Pao screamed before leaving the backroom, flinging the muddied rug into the floor before he exited.

Zuko counted to three before he repeated his question. Iroh looked at Zuko incredulously before returning his attention to the teapot. He pursed his lips and stared at the smoke curling from the teapot's mouth with great concentration.

"I am sorry Prince Zuko but I have no idea what you are talking about," Iroh finally said after moments of silence. Annoyed, Zuko angrily scowled before proceeding to the bucket of water stationed near the sink. He cupped a handful of water and poured it on the hem of his pants in an irritated fashion. He had thought that Iroh would at least take the question seriously.

Iroh's eyes momentarily flicked in Zuko's direction. He lowered the heat with a fan. He yearned to simply firebend so that the work process would be done at a much faster pace but the risk was too high. Pao had a habit of popping in and out of the backroom at unexpected times. Once, Iroh had instructed Zuko to light a fire using a match. Zuko, being extremely stubborn, used firebending instead. At that untimely moment, Pao came bursting in, yammering about increased taxes and lousy tips. Luckily, Iroh's round and big body was more than enough to cover the sight of Zuko firebending.

"Why the sudden interest in earthbenders?" Iroh asked after awhile. The tea leaves in the teapot had blackened and he knew that it was would soon have the right flavor and he would have to put the fire out completely. Iroh inhaled the scent deeply. The key to making great tea was the smell.

Zuko briefly considered telling Iroh about the incident in the alleyway but then he quickly decided against it. He wasn't sure if he wanted his uncle to know considering the harried and frantic way Jin left. As of now, he felt as if Jin's earthbending abilities were an unsaid secret between her and himself. If he was going to figure things out, he'll do it by himself.

"So….Jin was here," Zuko ventured cautiously knowing full well how Iroh would react. He really wanted another chance to meet her so he could ask her the questions plaguing his mind.

Iroh smiled when he heard that question. It seemed as if Zuko was warming up to the idea of dating Jin or at least the possibility of making a life here in Ba Sing Se. He answered in a happier tone, "Yes. She wanted to speak with you regarding the details of your date last night—''

Zuko huffed loudly.

"But it seems that you are much more interested in running around the mud with rain on your head than talking with a nice and extremely attractive young lady. She was disappointed that you weren't here and having nothing left to do, she left," Iroh continued with a tone of disappointment. He lifted the cover of the teapot and smelled the scent that was wafting about the room. It was strong yet pleasing. Satisfied, he took the pot from the stove and set it on the table next to him. Then, he put the fire out altogether with a stone cap.

"So….um…..do you think she'll come back again?" Zuko asked hesitantly. He knew how Iroh would react. As expected, Iroh turned around his face etched with a mixture of happiness and shock. Then, to Zuko's horror Iroh started winking at him.

Zuko groaned and glared at Iroh before storming out of the backroom muttering under his breath.

The next morning, Zuko was shocked to find Jin sitting in her usual table, a calm expression on her face. He half-expected her to not return but he also knew that she would come back no matter how confusing things became yesterday. She was from the Earth Kingdom and those of Earth Kingdom blood are known to be annoyingly persistent and steadfast.

"Zuko! Your lady friend has come back and she wants green tea!" Iroh whispered excitedly, making Zuko flinch. He was looking through the peephole in the backroom door.

"I need to go buy more oolong!"

"You're always buying oolong! Do you want to turn into one?" Iroh demanded as he poured some green tea into a cup.

Zuko panicked. Although he did want to talk to her because he wanted an explanation for the peculiar way she left yesterday, he was still afraid with how the conversation might turn out. Surely Jin had not forgotten about their disastrous date. She had probably come here to mock him for being such a horrible date. Or perhaps she was so incensed by his idiotic behavior that she planned to spite him and she will start yelling at him and maybe she'll slap him too. Zuko was so busy thinking about these that he did not notice that Iroh had pushed him outside with a teacup in his hands.

Zuko glared at his uncle, before taking a deep breath. Grasping the cup in his hands he slowly walked towards the table where Jin sat.

"Hi Li. Thank you for the tea," Jin said cheerfully. Zuko quickly placed the cup on her table and said, "Hi."

Zuko expected Jin to get defensive. He expected her to start sputtering excuses about why she left so quickly in the alleyway. He did not expect her to be sipping tea so calmly.

"I'm taking a break…..my uncle told me you wanted to say something," Zuko said lamely, scratching his head.

"Are you sure Li? It seems your boss isn't looking too happy," Jin said, eyeing Pao who was now glaring at Zuko murderously.

"He always looks like that," Zuko retorted.

"Oh…he always looks like a man who has dung shoved under his nose?"

Thinking of no other answer, Zuko said, "Yes."

"Okay, that's weird," Jin said frowning. Then in a lighter voice she said, "I hear your uncle has created a new blend. How does it taste like?"

"I don't know. Wait—what I mean to say is that I don't really care. Rather, I'm not really interested. I hate tea," Zuko said flatly. He was very impatient. He wanted this conversation to go to the direction he wanted.

"That's too bad. You know, Li you should start appreciating tea more often. It helps calm the nerves. If you took more time in valuing the simple things in life you probably would not be as cranky," Jin said teasingly.

"I'm not cranky!"

"Of, course not," Jin said in a mock serious voice.

Zuko huffed. Then in a more cautious voice he said, "So…..about yesterday…."

"Of course. I never had the chance to apologize for leaving so rudely yesterday," Jin began seriously. She still looked the picture of serenity while Zuko was now becoming more and more riled up.

"You didn't tell me you were a bender!" Zuko blurted out. Jin eyes widened in shock and she stared at him with a blank look on her face. Zuko smiled satisfied although he couldn't understand why. He had finally gotten to point of the conversation he wanted.

Jin however quickly smoothed the expression on her face.

"You don't know what you saw," Jin murmured cautiously. She subconsciously tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.

Zuko narrowed his eyes suspiciously. He knew what he saw. The memory was still fresh in his mind. He could still recall the strong and steady way Jin moved her hands as she earthbended the mud from her clothes.

"You don't know what you saw Li. The rain was pouring down much too heavily so it may have fogged your eyesight," Jin said carefully after realizing that Zuko had not spoken at all. Zuko looked up startled and inched his face towards her. Jin looked light and cheerful once again. "Maybe you should stop working. Rest a little, maybe," Jin said in her usual bright and happy voice although Zuko detected that it was edged with something else. Fear? Anxiety? Worry?

Zuko realized that she was trying to act as if the whole thing had not happened. That perhaps it was momentary lapse in Zuko's judgment. Zuko however refused to give up so easily. "I know what I saw," Zuko said shaking his head stubbornly. Then in a louder voice he said, "You didn't tell me you are a bender."

"I'm not. You're getting confused. Maybe you should drink some more tea," Jin said persistently.

"I don't need tea!" Zuko yelled. Then, in one angry huff, he left, irritated that he still had not gotten any answers.

Perhaps he shouldn't have left in such a distasteful and abrupt manner. He would never get answers that way. Zuko decided to change his whole strategy about the whole matter. He rolled his shoulders and spied on Jin as she sat in her table, sipping her tea. That girl was extremely strange! She had ways of getting under his skin. Zuko expected her to not return after her secret had just almost been revealed.

And yes Zuko was sure that Jin was keeping her earthbending a secret. No amount of pretending would erase that.

He confidently strode towards her table and said, "Hi."

"Hello, Li. Did you rest like I suggested?"

"Nothing's wrong with me!"

"Well...your getting all ruffled up over nothing," Jin stated.

"That's because you're trying to confuse me and act like it did not happen!" Zuko yelled.

"What did not happen?' Jin asked.

"You, earthbending!" Zuko roared.

"Shush. Don't go saying stupid things," Jin snapped, her face melding into anger for the first time. Her eyes darted edgily from place to place.

"Li!" Pao roared from the din of the noise.

"What?" Zuko snapped.

"Get back to work and stop spending time with your girlfriend!" Pao ordered.

"She is not my girlfriend!" Zuko growled. Then realizing that Jin was next to him, Zuko flushed, mightily embarrassed.

"I'm just his friend actually," Jin said good-naturedly.

This was the third time Jin went to their teashop after the incident in the alleyway and Zuko hadn't been too successful with their conversations. Iroh seemed to take note of this and decided that it was his duty to help Zuko.

"Nephew, it would be wise of you to not storm out every time the conversation ends badly," Iroh advised.

"I don't need your advise!" Zuko said before walking towards Jin's table. Jin was drinking the new blend his uncle made. To Zuko, it all tasted the same but apparently Jin thought otherwise.

"This tea is the best one I had ever had! It's the right balance between bitterness and sweetness!" Jin exclaimed.

"He made it out of Moon Flowers," Zuko said. That was very clever of him. Continuing the topic with something he already knew. His uncle taught him that.

"Is it from the…..is it from the ones he had put up four days ago?" Jin asked in horror.

"Well….yeah," Zuko said. Stupid! Stupid! Zuko mentally cursed himself. That did not sound right.

"No wonder I could feel the taste of decay!" Jin said although she didn't look as horrified.

Zuko grunted. Whatever. This was not the reason why he had come to talk to her. He did not come here to make friends or girlfriends or talk about tea for that matter.

"So you're a bender?" Zuko repeated the question with much force this time.

Jin averted her gaze.

Zuko continued to ask more questions, his voice rising octaves higher with each passing question until finally Jin grabbed his hand and pulled him closer to her. His face was only a few inches away from her and he could make out every detail from her bangs to the thick lashes clinging unto the lids of her eyes. Zuko was quite shocked to see Jin's happy and bright face meld into one of seriousness and solemnity so quickly.

"Not so loud! Not here where unwanted ears can hear us!" she hissed. Zuko looked around. All he saw was a family, two farmers and an old lady, all of them drinking their tea. Hardly anyone suspicious.

"So you're an earthbender?" Zuko said insistently.

"Maybe," Jin said. Her voice was teasing and light. Zuko expected her to be defensive but again she surprised him by making very light of the situation.

"Why won't you give me a straight answer?" Zuko hissed losing his patience.

"I thought you were positively sure that you saw me bend," Jin said slyly. Zuko growled in annoyance before curtly saying that he needed to get back to work.

It dawned on Zuko the next day that maybe Jin's last answer was her way of saying yes without out rightly saying it. Apparently she was cautious because of something but he still could not get the answers he wanted. He went to her again hoping she would answer his question but always she averted it by starting some other topic. And like the dunderhead he was, he would completely forget about what they were talking about because he would get too caught up in the conversation. He would never admit it to himself but he actually liked talking with Jin. She was such an interesting person to talk with.

By the eight day that she had come back Zuko had repeated the mantra of concentrating about a hundred times to himself. His uncle seemed greatly amused, thinking that it was about Jin. Zuko frowned. His uncle did not know anything. This was nothing about Jin! Okay, so perhaps it was mostly about Jin but he was only talking to her to find out the ever elusive secret of being a bender in Ba sing Se.

Then suddenly it dawned on him.

Why should he bother wasting time with Jin who was not giving him any answers when he could just ask Pao who would probably be very frank about the whole matter?

Zuko approached Pao who was none too happy to see him not working.

"Pao? I need to ask you a question," Zuko said.

"If this is about the amount of money I'm taking out of your pay then the answer is no! I would not reconsider!" Pao said.

"You took money out of my pay!" Zuko said angrily.

"What do you expect? You spent a lot of time that could be used for working with your girlfriend!" Pao hissed.

"She is not my girlfriend!" Zuko roared. Why did everyone think Jin was his girlfriend? Why was everyone being so pushy with this?

"Sure she isn't," Pao said disbelievingly.

"Look….can you please just answer my question?" Zuko said rubbing his temples, trying vainly to keep his temper in check.

"What?"

"What do you know about earthbenders?"

"I don't care about earthbenders and their weird magic," Pao sniffed.

"I'm talking about earthbenders here in Ba Sing Se," Zuko continued impatiently.

At this Pao immediately stiffened. He slowly turned around, grabbed Zuko by the collar and said in a dark voice, "Unless don't want to cross the Dai Li's path then don't ever associate with them."

Zuko stared at Pao, too shocked to move.

"And if you do know someone who bends…..report it to the Dai Li immediately," Pao said gravely. Then he let Zuko go and started blabbering about more schemes to attract customers. Zuko scowled and grabbed Pao's sleeved.

"Why should I report them to the Dai Li?"

Pao sighed heavily as if it was a really great burden to him to take time to explain this to Zuko. Exasperated he asked, "Did you not realize that you have not seen anyone bend but the Erath Kingdom Guards and the Dai Li?"

Zuko pondered on this. Now that he thought about it, he really did not see anyone aside from the Earth Kingdom Guards and the Dai Li earthbend. At first, he did not really pay much attention to the city because he despised living here. However, he realized that he would be here much longer than he really wanted. He realized that something more sinister was going on in the walls of this seemingly peaceful city.

"Years ago, the Earth King issued a decree that henceforth, all people who possess the ability to bend must register themselves to the Dai Li whereupon they will be taken under training. Of course, as usual, people are being stubborn and suspicious about it so we got a few rogues and unregistered benders running loose in the city. The Dai Li wishes for everyone's cooperation in this matter so I suggest if you know any information about a bender, report it immediately," Pao said significantly.

"Why do they need benders to be registered?"

Pao leaned forward and said in low voice, "They say that it is to crush any chances of an uprising."

Then with a wave of his hand, Pao dismissed Zuko.

Zuko stiffened at the sound of "Dai Li". He now understood why Jin was so mysterious about the whole thing. Truth to be told, he did not like them, their methods and how they handled their affairs. They handled their affairs with such a silence and quickness that their enemies would no longer have time to think before realizing that they had come to their doom. He did not like to wake up one morning only to discover that Jin had now joined among those ranked "missing".

Zuko mentally slapped himself. Why did he even care? Was he growing attached to something in this stupid city? Was he making friends? Zuko shuddered. He did not want that to happen. He wanted to leave Ba Sing Se. However, he was so happy with at last unmasking Jin's odd behavior about the whole earthbending matter that he soon forgot about his previous worries and he started focusing on talking with Jin about it.

"Hi."

"Hi, Li. Still babbling cockamamie nonsense about earthbenders?" Jin asked.

Zuko scowled and said, "I know about earthbenders."

"Everyone knows about earthbenders," Jin told him. She was sipping another one of her uncle's experiments. Zuko noted that it was only her that was brave enough to try concoctions such as Wasp Hopper's Essence or Carrot Tea.

"I know what the Dai Li does to them," Zuko said frankly. He wanted to stop this verbal tango and get straight to the point. Jin sighed and glared at him.

"Is this a threat?"

"What?" Now Zuko was absolutely confused. As expected, he had no idea where the conversation was heading.

"The Dai Li pays a hefty sum to those who turn unregistered Earthbenders in," Jin said.

Zuko was so flabbergasted by her response that he could do nothing but stare at her for awhile. She looked worried but at the same time she was giving off an aura of apathy. It was as if she didn't care if Zuko would turn her in or not.

"What makes you think that I'll turn you in?"

Jin shrugged and said, "Lots of people from the Lower Ring would do anything for money. I just don't see you as an exception."

At this, Zuko's temper flared. He hated being referred to as a peasant.

"That's stupid. I have more concerns than money," Zuko declared.

Jin looked at him skeptically.

"Besides I just wouldn't do that to you. You're my…..you're my….friend," Zuko said. He didn't like it all. He didn't like that he was making friends here in Ba Sing Se. He didn't like that he was actually considering a possibility of having a life here.

"Awww…..really?"

"Yes," Zuko said exasperated.

"I was under the impression that you didn't want any friends," Jin said.

"That's not true!" Zuko argued weakly.

"Well….your just so….uptight…," Jin commented.

"Stop acting as if you're my psychiatrist!"

"You have one?" Jin exclaimed.

"No!"

"Li!" Zuko turned and saw that Pao was stomping over towards them, an angry expression on his face. He stopped a few inches from them and said in an angry voice, "I demand that you do the work you are paid to do and stop wasting time!"

Then he turned to look at Jin and said, "And stop distracting him! If the only purpose you have coming here is to hinder my employee from working then I suggest you not come back here at all!"

Zuko growled at Pao and said, "Don't drag her into this! This isn't her fault!"

Jin however hastily stood up and said in a harried tone, "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to cause any trouble. I'll leave….now."

And with that she left leaving Zuko alone with Pao. Pao stared at Zuko stonily before sending him back to work.

Iroh was extremely delighted to hear that Zuko had been reprimanded for taking too much time talking with Jin. He completely ignored Zuko's rants and complaints about Pao. He was glad that Zuko was finally doing something normal teenagers did.

The next day, Jin still showed up much to Pao annoyance and to Zuko's surprise she was bringing some sort of weapon with her. She brought two golden, three tipped metal prongs and she was swinging them up and down. Pao seemed too afraid to approach her because the prongs looked so sharp so he just stood in the corner glaring at Zuko as he approached Jin.

Pao thought that it would be best if he brought Jin "apology tea" for his rude behavior yesterday. Even though Pao hated it when Zuko would stop working to talk with Jin she was still his most valuable customer.

"Here. As a gesture of apology from Pao's Family Teashop," Zuko said flatly handing her the tea.

"I thought so. I'm your best customer," Jin said matter-of-factly as sipped the tea.

"What are those?" Zuko asked gesturing the prongs.

"They're double hand-held tridents. I just finished forging them today," Jin said excitedly. She handed him the weapons for him to examine.

Zuko's jaw dropped.

"What do you mean you forged them today?"

"Don't tell me you don't know about weapons forging?' Jin demanded.

"I know how weapons are forged!"

"Then why are you so shocked?"

"Because…..because….you're a girl!" Zuko sputtered. Then after seeing the expression of Jin's face he immediately regretted it. He quickly tried to cover up his blunder.

"Not that there is anything wrong with girls. It's just that…..girls aren't supposed to be interested in stuff like these!" Zuko said quickly.

"I'm a girl and I bend. Apparently in the Earth Kingdom, girls aren't supposed to be interested in stuff like bending either," Jin said with a hint of bitterness. Zuko just stared at her and since he was so uncomfortable he started twiddling his thumbs.

"That's okay. I'm used to people being so sexist that way," Jin shrugged dismissively.

Zuko took great offense in that. He wasn't sexist. In fact in the Fire nation both women and men were equal and they all had equal opportunities in education, rank and military exploits. It's just that Jin wasn't the kind of girl he expected to go forging weapons.

"I'm not sexist!"

Jin stared blankly at him. Zuko realized that he had just made another unnecessary outburst.

"It's just that….you don't seem like the kind of girl to be into this stuff," Zuko explained awkwardly.

"You're not first one to tell me that," Jin laughed. This made Zuko only more embarrassed. This was the first thing his teacher taught him. Never underestimate anyone or their capabilities.

"So you work in a forge?"

"Nope. I actually sell flowers. I'm not really good at cooking and sewing so it's difficult for me to get regular jobs. Here in the Earth Kingdom, if you're a girl then those are the only kind of jobs people expect you to get or be good at," Jin said. She looked slightly annoyed at this.

"So how did you forge this?" Zuko asked genuinely curious.

"My neighbor is really nice. He knows I'm really interested in weaponry and that I like to collect weapons so he lets me use it on slow days," Jin said.

"So you know how to use weapons?"

"Of course! It's much more interesting than cooking and sewing! I have a big collection at home. You can look at it if you want to some time," Jin invited.

Zuko stared at tridents. They were perfectly made and they gleamed with sheen. He decided that Jin was not fulfilling any of his first impressions of her.

"So do you know how to use these?"

"No. I just became interested recently after reading a book that said it was once a popular weapon during the period of Avatar Yangchen."

"I'm like that. Once I get interested in something, I get right to it," Jin added. She shrugged her shoulders.

"I never knew," Zuko said loudly though he said it mostly to himself.

"You never asked during our date," Jin retorted.

Zuko muttered something about Pao calling him after hearing about a topic he did not particularly like.

The next day Jin had decided that it was Zuko's turn to tell her things about himself.

"It's not fair. We spent yesterday talking about me," Jin whined.

"I'm not that interesting of a person," Zuko said.

"So what? You're being such a loser. You already know a secret about me. You should tell me a secret too so I know that you won't turn me into the Dai Li one day."

"I won't turn you into the Dai Li!"

Then after a few minutes he added, "And I don't have any secrets."

"Everyone has secrets."

"Everyone but me."

Jin sat back, folded her arms and said, "Well unless you tell me something about yourself then I will have to bury you ten feet underground because I don't trust you!"

"You don't trust me?"

"How do I know you won't turn me into the Dai Li?"

"Because I'm not that kind of person!"

"Just tell me one thing about you," Jin insisted.

"Fine! I can play the Tsungi Horn," Zuko said in defeat.

Jin stared at him for awhile. She opened her mouth then closed it.

"What?"

"What?"

"You were about to say something."

"I don't mean to offend you but I hate the Tsungi Horn. It's a dumb instrument," Jin said her face looking slightly apologetic.

Zuko found himself laughing after awhile.

"That's okay. Don't ever tell my uncle but I hate it too."

Jin smiled.

Zuko realized that he had a lot more in common with her than he first thought.

"I think we should talk about our date," Jin told him suddenly. They were in the middle of a conversation about swords when Jin suddenly jumped that comment on him. Zuko looked startled. He did not want to talk about this. He started muttering tea when Jin glared at him and said, "Not so fast."

"What?"

"You can't keep avoiding this. I've been meaning to talk to you about this days ago," Jin frowned.

"I wanted to talk to you about your bending abilities for days but you wouldn't talk about it," Zuko said.

"That was different. It was a matter of life and death. This is a matter of your cowardice," Jin pointed out.

"I'm not a coward!"

"Then let's talk about it."

"Fine!"

"I want us to be friends," Jin said simply. Zuko just stared at her, unable to think of anything to say back to her.

"I know our date didn't end in the best way possible. I can see that you aren't interested. I know we've started hanging out as friends but I can still see that there is some awkwardness in the air. I just wanted to get rid of them," Jin explained.

"I'm sorry about our date," Zuko blurted out interrupting whatever Jin was about to say next.

"I actually liked you as my date but...that doesn't mean...wait!….er…..um….I like you as a friend more….and….what I mean to say is that I just sort of panicked because I'm not used to stuff like that," Zuko said, his words stumbling into each other.

Jin held her hand up and she started giggling.

"I can see that," Jin said disarmingly.

"But that doesn't mean that I don't know how to talk to people," Zuko added quickly.

"Of course not!" Jin said although she sounded as if she didn't believe him.

Then she held her hands out and said, "Friends?"

Zuko grabbed it and said, "Friends."

And for the first time, he actually liked the idea of having friends in Ba Sing Se.

I know some people will be expecting them to be dating right away but I felt that they should be friends first. One of things I did comment on that episode was that things went too fast—for someone like Zuko anyway.

So whenever I think of Jin I think of someone:

a.) Carefree

b. )Good-Natured

c.) Badass (who wouldn't be a badass when you've just asked Zuko out on a date)

d.) Fun-Loving

And I definitely don't think of her as a regular girly girl!

The plotline about Earthbenders having to be registered doesn't strike to me as far-fetched. The only time I've seen anyone bend other than the Dai Li and the Earth kingdom Guards in Ba Sing Se were those kids in the Tale of Iroh (made me cry by the way). Sexism in the Earth kingdom seems like a possibility to me either. I've never seen a female authority in the Earth Kingdom or in the Water Tribe and the only major female benders I've seen in both countries are Katara and Toph.

Thanks to pretzelboy, GraysonPaladin and SkorpionQueen012 for being the first to review!

Keep the reviews coming!