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No One's Pov
The golden eyed girl was confided to her room for three days, while Zuko went had adventures. Like finding that waterbending girl, getting his ship hijacked while she was still on it, and going through that awful storm, to which she was careful bound to the bed so she wouldn't get her even more. But after a stop at port for some pain medication, Kai was allowed to be on her feet.
And she took the opportunity to stay up late and sit outside, enjoying the nice breeze that she had missed out on.
"Ah..." The young master sipped her cup of tea from her soft sitting pad. "It's so nice out,"
"Kai," Zuko's voice made her jump. "You should go back to your room, I don't need you getting a cold."
The girl rolled her eyes at the prince, and patted the spot next to her. "I shant! I was cooped up in there for ages, I need fresh air!"
The scarred teen sighed and sat down next to her, "For good reason, too... How is your back doing?"
"There is no pain for my injury if that is what you are asking," Kai looked into her friend's golden eyes. "But, my neck is stiff and sore from laying down on it for so long..."
Zuko studied her, almost getting lost in her eyes, but then cleared his throat and moved so he was behind her. Despite her questions, Zuko continued to massage her stiff neck. A low moan escaped from Kai's mouth, causing the banished prince to blush. But he was happy to help her in any way possible.
In truth, Zuko hated that she had to live this way, always on the move, in a different town every day... Though Kai wouldn't say it, he knew that she was getting tired of it. The banished prince could see the dark circles forming under her eyes from the lack of sleep, and the always bright look in her eyes was slowly dying. He needed to capture the avatar soon, so he can get Kai home.
But. what Zuko didn't know? That Kai didn't want to go home at all... Oh no, she wanted to run away from the homeland. To hide from the Fire Lord, because of a certain letter that was recieved a couple days ago... One that haunts her dreams.
Dear Kai,
It has come to my attention that my councilmen thinks I am unpredictable and untrustworthy. My advisors believe I need a Fire Lady... Someone I will see as my equal and help me guide my country. I have thought over this for many months, and I have come to the conclusion that by the end of the month, you will come back to the homeland and proceed to be my wife. I hope you will be loyal to me at all times...
Fire Lord Ozai
P.S. Tell Zuko there is no need to find the Avatar anymore, he will forever be banished.
This is what Kai had been keeping from Iroh, and Zuko. She refused to crush him like that or leave him behind. If she returned without him, her once home would feel like a prison cell. No... She would return only with Zuko at her side. And only then will he learn of her engagement.
"Does that feel any better?" The scarred prince asked, still massaging her neck.
The young master was shaken out of her deep thoughts, and smiled at her friend. "Yes... Thank you, Zuko."
He nodded and returned to the spot next to her. "Anything for you,"
"Anything?" She raised an eyebrow.
Zuko rolled his eyes. "That is within reason,"
The girl pouted, but then laughed. "Of course, Prince Zuko, of course."
And they sat there, staring at the scenery, with each of them stealing glances at one another without out the other knowing. It was so sad that the two had no idea that they were in love with each other... Always missing one another signals of love, ones that would then spark the attention of both of them. They would pay more attention to one another, then jealously would kick in, and then... They would confess their feelings. But, the first needed that first signal of love.
"I always wanted to go to Omashu, and into the Secret Lover's Tunnels," Kai randomly said, getting the attention of Zuko.
"Why?"
The girl shrugged, staring up at the sky. "I have always wanted to see them myself when I first read about them... It's said that the lover's were the first earthbenders, and they used their bending to meet one another every night." Kai and leaned back on her hands, still looking at the sky. "I hope one day... I will have a love like that."
Zuko had studied the beautiful girl, every inch and curve. "Me too..."
The golden girl looked towards her prince, and smiled. 'Maybe, you should go to bed... I'm going to be here for awhile."
The scarred prince nodded and got up and left her to her own thoughts.
As Zuko walked, he saw Iroh with a grin on his face. "What?"
"It is said that with every rare flower, there is always two who seek it." The old man laughed.
"What are you rambling about?" the prince asked, annoyed by his proverbs.
Iroh had sighed. 'If you do not tell her your feelings soon, another man will snatch her away!"
Zuko sucked in a breath and looked back at Kai, who was still staring at the sky. "I know,"
And he stormed to his room, leaving with a watchful Iroh.
Kai had stayed up all night, thinking. And only went inside when Iroh had asked her to join him and Zuko for tea.
Iroh had made the arrangements to Kai would be next to his nephew. He was going to make an interesting conversation, the old man laughed drinking some of his tea. Then, poured Zuko and Kai some too.
"Ah!" The old man smiled at the two. "See, Prince Zuko, a moment of quiet is good for your mental well being."
"And the soul," Kai had added with a small smile.
The prince sighed, and picked up his cup to drink, but then the ship shook, causing his tea to sip. But he didn't care, he was more worried about Kai and her injury.
"Kai are you okay?" He asked.
The girl had studied herself with the table and smiled up at him. "I'm fine, Zuko."
Then, the prince had stormed off to the deck, where the commotion had occurred, with Kai and Iroh following.
One the deck there was a shirshu and a female riding him. The animal had it's nose pressed against the ground, sniffing it.
"Get back!" The rider yelled. "We're after a stowaway!"
Zuko's face reddened with anger. "There is no stowaways on my ship!"
The shirshu continued to rip some of the deck's metal off and exposed the lower bunker, and after a few seconds, a man came running out yelling. But, then the rider ordered the animal to wipe it with it's tongue. The man fell, not moving.
"He's paralyzed!" The prince gasped, amazed by this rider and her animal.
The female rider nodded, jumping off the shirshu and picking up the man. "Only temporarily. The toxins will wear off in about an hour. but by then he'll be in jail and I'll have money!"
"But how did you find him?" Zuko asked.
"And could I borrow him?" The young master asked. "There's a prince that needs to be paralyzed once in awhile."
After a look from Zuko, Kai had stayed silent. The rider jumped back onto her shirshu with the captured man. "My shirshu can smell a rat a continent away."
"Well!" Iroh had finally spoken up. "I'm impressed!" The girl cracked her whip and the shirshu bolts off the ship and off into where ever they came from. "Very impressed..."
"Don't even think about it," The young master laughed at Iroh's face. 'She is far too young for you."
The old man looked at the girl, fake tears in his eyes. "How can you can crush an old man dreams so quickly, Kai?"
Zuko rolled his eyes and stormed off as Kai laughed. "With much practice,"
Iroh watched his nephew leave, the returned his gaze to Kai, sending her a silent message. She sighed, and walked after the prince. With a grin, the old man thought about how good looking the two would make as a couple. Yes... He can see their story going down generations, becoming one of legends.
"Zuko?" Kai had caught up to him. "What is your plan? I know you are devising one."
The prince didn't respond as they entered his room. Even then, he paced his floor as Kai sat on his bed. So, the girl let herself think...
She thought about the letter. Every time she thought of it, it broke her heart into pieces and she tried not to think of it, but she did anyway. There was no way she could avoid the marriage, well there was... But that would mean leaving Zuko behind, but Kai had shunned the thought as soon as it came. Zuko was all she had, him and Iroh...
Yes, yes, her family was still alive, but she couldn't risk the safety of her people by going back. Kai feared that the Fire Lord would have someone follow her and then... That would be the end of the Sun Warriors. No, she wouldn't do that...
But she didn't want to marry Ozai, she rejected the idea with her whole being. And just thinking about becoming Zuko's step-mother?! It had disgusted her! And she was sure that the Fire Lord had chosen her because he knew how close the two were and this would destroy Zuko even more.
"Kai, did you hear me?" The prince touched her shoulder, bring her back to the world of the living.
She looked up at him still a little dazed. "What?"
The prince sighed and sat down next to her. "I said; 'I'm going to hire that bounty hunter', she may be able to find the Avatar."
"But do you have anything of his?" The girl raised an eyebrow at him.
Zuko shook his head. "No, but..." He took out a blue necklace. It had looked familiar some way, but Kai couldn't place her finger on it. "I have something of his friend's."
"Oh!" she exclaimed, putting the two together. "That's Katara's necklace!"
"Yes," He smiled, proud of himself.
The girl had grabbed the prince's hand and smiled up at him. "You amaze me sometimes, Zuko."
"I do?" He asked, surprised.
Kai nodded and cupped his cheek. "You are amazing, and I don't want you to ever forget that."
Zuko couldn't look away from her eyes, they were so honest and truthful. Like she could never tell a lie. "O-okay..."
And with that, the girl got up and opened the heavy door. "I'm going to take a shower and change, don't do anything exciting without me."
Kai had dressed herself in a pretty silver and blue dress and had twisted her hair into two separate buns with two blue cherry blossoms in each one, she had left two strand of her hair down, letting them shape her face.
Once ready, she went to the deck, where Zuko was getting ready to leave.
"Are we going somewhere?" Kai asked.
The prince had looked up, expect her to be in normal red robes, but gasped when he saw the silver and blue dress. it had complimented her well and made her look like a doll. "We, uh, are going to find the bounty hunter."
The young master beamed. "Oh! May I come?"
"Sure," He agreed, not really realizing he did until afterwards.
They had spent hours looking for this girl, asking around, finally they had gotten a lead on where she was. They rode to a three story tavern, where the lights had been a glow. Laughter and yelling came from it, and it was inviting Kai to enter.
Inside, there was a crowd of man, and in the middle was the rider, arm wrestling a buff guy. Kai had wondered if she could take him, and just by the looks of her; she doubted it. Zuko shoved people aside, determined to get to that bounty hunter.
"Out of my way!" He shoved a man. "Step aside, filth!"
Iroh was quick to apologize to the men. "He means no offense! I'm sure you bathe regularly!"
"I don't think that is what's bothering them, Iroh." Kai had whispered into his ear.
"How do yo know that?" He said as we approached the table.
The girl was still arm-wrestling the buff guy, and it looked like he was having much trouble, while she looked like she could take a nap.
"I need to talk to you," The prince growled, getting the attention of the ridder.
She smirked, not fazed by him. "Well, if it isn't my new friends, Angry Boy, Uncle Lazy and Collected Girl!"
Iroh and Kai shared a laugh from the names, each one sounding like a bad superhero. But, then we fell silent as the girl does a quick and swift move that leaves the beefy guy on the floor. The traven exploded with cheers, throwing money at the girl.
"Your beast trashed my ship," Zuko took a step towards the girl. "You have to pay me back."
The female rider was gathering her newly won money with a smirk. "Aww, I'd love to help you out, but I'm a little short on money." She raised her chin and shouted to the men. "Drinks on me!"
Then she proceeded to pick up her glass and raise it to her lips, but The scarred teen quickly grabbed her wrist with a glare. "Money isn't what I had in mind..."
"Oh?" She raised an eyebrow. "And what is?"
Finally, the young master intervened, pressing a hand on Zuko's chest, forcing him to take a few steps back. "We need your services."
The rider studied the girl for a moment, then smiled. "Well, I think my little name for you becomes you."
"Maybe we should talk outside?" Kai suggested.
With the a smile, she got up and walked out the door. ""So collected, so cool, Ms. Fire Nation."
Those few words had struck Kai in her heart strings, but she quickly banished it from her mind and followed after the rider, with Zuko and Iroh behind her. The rider walked to her shirshu and petted it's nose.
"What is your name, if I may ask?" The young master called.
The rider looked at her and smirked, something Kai was realizing she was very good at. "The name is June, what can I do for you?"
The scarred prince had dug out the waterbender's blue necklace and showed it to the girl rider. "I need you to find someone."
"What happened?" June ran her hand along the animal's fur. "You girlfriend run off on you?"
Kai's cheeks reddened with the thought of it, but she didn't move in fear Zuko might see her, but the rider had seen and that made her grin wider.
"It's not the girl I'm after, it's the bald monk she's traveling with." Zuko explained, oblivious to Kai's embarrassment.
June sighed. "Whatever you say..."
Zuko growled, pushing his friend behind him and closer to the female rider. "If you find them, I will consider the damage to my ship paid for!"
"Heh!," She starts to climb onto her saddle. "Forget it!"
"Wait-" Kai had started.
Finally the old man had spoken up, taking a step towards the pretty June. "Plus, we'll pay your weight in gold."
The girl smiles and hopes down from the saddle. "Make it your weight and we got a deal."
"You got it!" Iroh laughed.
June went to Zuko and took the necklace out of his hand, walking to the head of the shirshu. "Get on."
The two men didn't waste any time getting on, but then Kai realized that there was no room for her. "Uh, should I go back to the ship?"
"No!" Zuko shook his head.
"Yeah, just still on lover boy's lap." June suggested with a grin.
With red cheeks, Kai up and sat on her friend's lap, wrapping her arms around his neck so she wouldn't fall. "If I go down, you are coming with me." She whispered into his ear.
The banished prince smiled and nodded. June had leaned down and let the shirshu smell the necklace, the animal smelled the ground a few times then it growled. The rider smiled and jumped into the saddle, smacking her wipe and we were off.
The ride had terrified Kai, she clung to Zuko like he was her lifeline. Not that the prince was complaining, he was actually enjoying being this close to her, though he would never admit it. And Kai loved the excuse also, to hold him like this was so rare and she wanted to take advantage of it as much as she could, even if she was scared out of her mind.
Suddenly they were slowing down.
"What's going on?" Kai asked, her face pressed against Zuko's chest, refusing to open her eyes.
"Out for a bit of fresh air, are we?" Sounded an elderly lady.
"We're looking for someone," The prince replied.
"I hope it's not miyuki!" Kai had opened her eyes to see an old lady with her cat. "Miyuki, did you get in trouble with the Fire Nation again?"
The young master raised an eyebrow. "Again?"
"The Avatar's been through here. Let's keep moving!" June yelled.
She cracked her whip and they were on their way again, Kai holding to her friend with dear life.
They had stopped again, but now it was in a town. In front of some old fortune teller's house.
"Why are we stopping?" Zuko asked, angry.
June sighed, and looked at the prince. "Because the girl must of spent a lot of time here."
With a growl, the scarred prince snatched the necklace,"We have no time for this!" and jumped off the shirshu with Kai with him. Before going to the nose of the shirshu, Zuko had made sure that Kai landed softly on the ground.
The prince shoves the necklace in the animal's face and the proceeds to dodge it paralyzing tongue. "Hey, watch it!"
"Oh look," June cooed. "He likes you."
The prince growled and got back onto the saddle, then helped Kai on.
"Care to hear your fortune, Handsome?" The old woman smiled.
Iroh laughed, his belly shaking. "At my age there is really only one big surprise left, and I'd just as soon leave it a mystery!"
"And you, Golden Girl?" She made eye contact with Kai.
The young master smiled but shook her head. "I would rather not know,"
The woman shrugged as June had cracked her whip again, and like that they were running off towards Katara's scent.
They were in a forest, and they had caught up to Katara and her brother, but there was no Aang. The banished prince picked up his friend and hops down from the shirshu, walking towards the siblings.
"So this is your girlfriend," June studied the blue eyed girl. "No wonder she left. She's way too pretty for you."
Kai had sent a glare towards June, but she simply smirked back.
"Where is he?" Zuko questioned. "Where's the Avatar?"
The brother looked at the prince dead in his eyes. "We spilt up! He's long gone!"
With a growl, Zuko picked Sokka up by his collar. "How stupid do you think I am?"
"Zuko," The young master warned.
"Pretty stupid!" The brother laughed, grabbing his sister's arm. "Run!"
They took a few steps, but then June's shirshu strikes them with it's tongue, paralyzing them. "What are we suppose to do now?" The scarred teen sighed.
Kai walked to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Start from the beginning, like we always do?"
The prince studied her, loving her support and nodded, but then saw the shirshu sniffing Katara and then Sokka.
"It's seeking a different scent- perhaps something that the Avatar held." The rider explained.
The shirshu sniff Sokka's pack, and then a map rolls out of it. The shirshu growls, and Zuko quickly loads the siblings and then gets on, with Kai right behind him. They rode back to the town to where they just passed. We had busted through the door, causing the sisters of the town run, screaming. Shirshu continues to sniff the ground, going in circles.
"What's it doing? It's just going around in circles!" Zuko yelled, tightening his hold on Kai's waist.
WIth one last turn, the shirshu look to the sky. They all look up to see Aang on his glider, flying down to them, immediately the shirshu tries to snap his tongue at hi. But aang skillfully dodges and causes the shirshu to go on two leg, making it's riders spill on the ground. Zuko making sure Kai had landed on him and not the hard ground.
"Aang!" The waterbender exclaimed, obviously happy.
There was a growl, and June got up and cracked her whip. Her animal roars in response and let's the rider to climb onto the saddle and charge after Aang.
"Are you okay?' the prince asked his friend.
The girl slowly got off Zuko, her back killing her. "I'm okay,"
He nodded and helped her up, and then raced after the Avatar as Appa shoved June and her shirshu into a wall. Aang was grinning at his pet, but then frowned when his eyes met with the two firebenders. Zuko had already had his hands on fire, while Kai had a simple stance. They advance, the Price shooting a gout of flame a the boy, but blocks it by twirling his staff. The three of them kept trading blow for awhile, but they were being both dodged. But, when Zuko and Aang fire off their next attack at the same time, their hands almost touching? They were blown backwards onto the rooftops.
"Zuko!" Kai had screamed.
She waited to see if he was okay, and when she saw him start storming towards the Avatar, she sighed with relief. Then, she ran towards Iroh, who was watching the scene play out.
"Innocent bystander?" The golden girl asked.
"No," He smiled. "Just an old man that can not fight anymore."
Kai had laughed at the statement. "You shouldn't be telling lies like that Iroh! You and I both know that you are plenty fighting ready."
The bearded man shrugged. "Maybe then I'm just an old man?"
"You are not that old, yet." The girl smiled as Aang and Zuko had an interesting dance on the well.
Kai had watched the Avatar move, he was always dodging with such skill that it shocked her that this was a child and not an old grandmaster. He seemed to always know the next move, and what step to take. Yes... Kai saw that he could be a great teacher if he wanted to be. And she would love to be the student.
Suddenly, there was perfume everywhere. The water tribe siblings and the sisters had spilled them to confuse the Shirshu, then Katara bended it and soaked the animal. June's shirshu went nuts, it had attacked Zuko and then went for it's master.
"June!" Iroh raced to catch her. "Noooo!"
The old man fell with the bounty hunter on top of his belly, and the shirshu racing to get out of the intoxicated area, leaving only Kai standing.
With a sigh, she walked over to Zuko and moved his head onto her lap so it wasn't on the ground. "You need to be aware of your surroundings, Prince Zuko."
"I thought I was..." He pouted.
The girl shook her head. "We'll work on it."
"Uncle?" Zuko noticed the old man and June across the way. "i didn't see you get hit with the tongue..."
Iroh opened his eyes and pressed a finger to his lips. "Shh!"
June's eyes shot open, clearly displeased with the old man. Kai couldn't help but laugh at the situation, then placed Zuko's head back on the round.
"Hold on, I'll see if I can convince the sisters to help us." And she walked off to charm the sisters into helping them.
A few days have past, and the trio was making their way to the Northern Water Tribe and Kai was begging Zuko to join the crew for some songs. Even now she can her Iroh singing his off tune voice.
"I said; 'no', Kai!" He shouted, standing in the middle of the room while she was seated on his bed.
"Why not?" She asked, standing as well now. "You play the sumki horn wonderfully and I want to hear it!"
Zuko groaned, placing his hand on his forehead. "I'm not a performer!"
The girl placed her hands on her hips and scolded him. 'And I'm not asking you to be, I just want you to have fun for once!" The scarred prince looked at her in shock, only now understanding all her attempts to join anything with the crew. "You are always up here brooding about not capturing the Avatar yet! I worry about you, you never seem to smile anymore, unless it because we are getting closer to the Avatar!"
He was shocked... Zuko had never expected Kai to blow like this, perhaps something was bothering her. But, he didn't know what that was and even if he did... Zuko would have never guessed it. "I'll... Think about it."
It wasn't a yes or a no, but Kai was going to accept it. "Please, try to join us?"
"I said I'll think about it," he sighed, opening the door for her.
Kai nodded and walked out of the Prince's room. She stood there a moment, in the vacant hallway and sighed. The end of the month was close approaching... And she still had neglected to tell Zuko. Tears had started to form in her eyes, and she rushed to her room before anyone saw them by chance.
Kai took a moment to collect herself and then fixed herself and went to join the others, only to see Iroh and Commander Zhao.
"Commander Zhao?" She was suprised.
Zhao smiled, "It's Admiral now, your majesty."
Kai's eyes went wide as iroh looked between the two, confused... Of course Zhao would know of her engagement, the Fire Lord might have sent him to retrieve her.
"I'm sure the Fire Lord will be pleased that you are in good health!" The Admiral continued to smiled.
Kai had remained silent, as Iroh showed him where Zuko was.
"For the last time, I'm not playing the sumki horn!" Zuko growled at the open door.
Iroh nervously smiled. "No, it's about our plans... There's a bit of a problem."
Zuko turned fully now, to see Iroh and Kai standing next to one another, the Zhao push them aside with a smirk.
"I'm taking your crew." The Admiral smirked widely.
The scarred teen glared at Zhao. "What?!"
Zhao laughed. "I've recruited them for a little expedition to the North Pole."
Zuko looked towards the two he called family. "Uncle, is that true?"
"I'm afraid so," He started to tear up, covering his face with his elbow. "He's taking everyone. Even the cook!"
The prince growled, but stayed silent. Zhao had smirked wider and then stood by Kai, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Well, everyone plus the beautiful Kai Lou. And I'm sorry you won't be there to watch me capture the Avatar. But I can't have you getting in my way again."
Zuko's eyes grew wide, and went to charge him, but Iroh stopped him by placing an arm in front of him. The Admiral chuckled, but then his eyes met with the broadswords on the wall, he walked closer to them.
Behind Zhao, Kai watched Zuko's eyes grow wide, but then quickly composed himself. The Admiral took them off the wall and started to practice with them.
"I didn't know you were skilled with broadswords, Prince Zuko." Zhao studied the blades.
The prince's fists were clenched. "I'm not. They're antiques, just decorations."
"Have you heard of the Blue Spirit, General Iroh?"
The two pieces clicked together in Kai's head... Zuko was the one who freed Aang that long time ago. The young master looked towards Iroh, knowing that he figured it out himself also, but was sure not to show it. "Just rumors, I don't think he is real."
Admiral Zhao looked towards the girl. "And you, Lady Kai?"
The girl clenched her teeth and shook her head. "I agree with him,"
"He's real all right..." The Admiral took a step towards the trio. "He's a criminal, an enemy of the fire Nation." Zhao handed Iroh the swords. "But I have a feeling that justice will catch up with him soon." He moved to the open door, but then looked towards the old man. "General Iroh, the offer to join my mission still stands if you change your mind. Let's go, Councilmen."
Kai nodded and walked out the room, not looking at Zuko and she let Zhao guide her to his ship, where he had a meal waiting for her.
"I must congratulate you on your engagement, your grace." The Admiral pushed her buttons, knowing that this was upsetting her. "To be the next Fire Lady is a great honor."
The girl glared at the man across the table. "I am a simple woman, Admiral Zhao, I do not lust power like you."
Zhao glared at the girl. "You are lucky to be protected by the Fire Lord, or I would have you on the floor bleeding."
"My advice for you, Zhao," Kai stood, wanting to go back to Zuko. "Is to not threaten when you obviously are the weaker of the two."
The man's face turned red, then in a flash, he grabbed Kai's arm. He was dragging her to the room that was prepared for her, after Zhao threw he in he yelled; "It is a shame you did not say your farewells to your precious Zuko! And I think you will find it you will never have another chance to!" With that Zhao had slammed the door closed and locked it from the outside.
"What?" The young master screamed, slamming her hands against the door. "What did you plan to do to Zuko?! Zhao! Tell me!"
"I have plans for Zuko to be.. dealt with. So he won't interfere with me again." The Admiral said through the door.
Flame surrounded the girl, her hair lifting with it, making her look like a demon. "Zhao! I'll kill you!"
There was a laugh. "Goodnight, my liege!"
Kai yelled, and screamed and threw furnace hot fire balls at the door, but not melting it. But, slowly her anger had died and despair had settled. Tears formed in her eyes, she let herself cry. for once she let herself cry because she was about to lose everything and she didn't know how to stop it. As she cried, her body got tired and surely her eyes started to close, and finally... She was asleep.
The loud explosion awoke the girl, and with a gasp she went to the window and saw her friend's ship aflame. No longer with the ability to cry, she sank down to her knees and stared down at her hands.
"Now, you have lost everything."
Review, please! and I'll uh... Give you shirtless Zuko?