Yuri felt chafed by the closeness of Setto, although it was not because of her inexperience with men, she wasn't comfortable being protected by someone else. She could fight for herself, but that was something she couldn't tell the boy, or any member of the Northern Water Tribe, ever. It kept her thinking as he stepped close behind Setto, who had insisted on covering her front down the forest path into town.

Was this really what she wanted? She was already lying about her heritage to the village and her closest friends, did she want to trade in those secrets for more? Her bending would have been kept a secret anyways, and Yuri admitted to herself she was still a bit frightened of this power. But she'd worked hard to train herself to fight—and she was rather competent. Getting over her fear of fighting had been a big stepping stone for Yuri, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to give that up, especially for a throne she wasn't prepared for, and didn't want. Setto expected her to change her mind and become their Princess, but Yuri knew it was in vain; it wouldn't make any difference if she did return to assume her place, the next chief would be the same man her father was about to choose, only he would have rights through her and the bloodline as her husband.

No, Yuri did not plan to simply become the figurehead wife of the Chief, she had never wanted that. Nor had she before wanted to become a fighter, but he had come to enjoy feeling confident in her fighting. Setto would have to accept that, and hopefully understand when she left him that this was for the best.

Something made Setto pause, and Yuri almost smacked into him in her train of thought. "What's that noise?" He asked curiously, and the girl froze as the sound of a blaring horn entered her ears.

That sound she hadn't heard in almost six months. It was a warning to the village when the Kyoshi Warriors left. It was only supposed to get the village to evacuate women and children, but Yuri had taught herself the sound as a sign that she had to move. Now the village was being attacked, and she didn't know if she was ready; she just knew she had to act.

Pushing Setto roughly out of the way, Yuri didn't even pause to think about getting one of her wooden practice weapons. If the invaders had any real weapons, the wood ones she used would be just as much use as her bare hands anyways. She sped down the path and erupted out into the village, and could see from where she stood the flag on the ship of her opponents—pirates.

"Princess, wait!" Setto shouted, barely catching up to Yuri in time to grab her shoulder. "You can't go and meet them, they could hurt you!" His eyes were full of concern, but she was not who he should be scared for.

Pulling her shoulder away from him, Yuri took a breath. "Your family is down there, their boat is probably being raided at this moment. I will be safe, but you must go to your father now."

"But your highness—" He began.

"I order it. As your princess, I order you to leave me and help your father protect your ship!" Yuri didn't mean to sound as cold as she did, but it worked; Setto grimaced, then bowed quickly and took off past her running towards the docks near the market.

The girl ran in the other direction, straight for the sounds of smashing windows and splintering wood. These lowlifes will pay for wreaking havoc here. She thought angrily, her rage driving her over the edge when she heard the scream of a child. Her own hands would be fine for fighting, because Yuri didn't plan on fighting these pirates hand-to-hand any more.

The first victim was simply slammed against a wall, his head lolling backwards for a moment before he slumped, unconscious, to the ground. Power began to flow into Yuri as her anger bubbled in her veins. Her arms dipped and weaved as she ran, nothing could stop her. One Pirate caught her off guard from behind an placed two daggers to her back.

"Hey Missy, you'd better get ready to feel these daggers in your spine if you make any sudden moves, alright?" His hot breath hit her neck and she could smell the stench from where she stood.

Yuri already knew what to do, since it was a technique she'd taught herself without even knowing it—concentrating hard on the pirate's blood, till she could sense it flowing and pumping with every beat of his heart—she snapped her hand shut, clenching it tightly, and smiled slightly as she heard the gurgling gasp and felt the daggers slide harmlessly down her back, though it sliced holes into her tunic. The clatter of the daggers on the ground told Yuri the pirate was dead of a sudden heart attack, having had every blood vessel in it burst open as it bled out in a matter of seconds.

The Village was now empty. Either the pirates had killed everyone or the citizens had been able to escape. The ship wasn't leaving so Yuri had to assume the rest of them were still here, hiding in between houses looting or trying to do what their comrade had just failed to do. There was more splintering and crashing off to her right, and grabbing the twin daggers from the ground, Yuri followed it to find out what had happened.

She turned a corner to find two men fighting; a pirate, and someone else Yuri couldn't recognize. He was tall and muscular, and over his body stretched tight red and black clothes, with a fiery emblem on the shoulder, that was like the Fire Nation symbol with a few variations. His hair was covered by a black hood, and since he was facing Yuri, she could see that the hood covered his face except his mouth. He held out his hands in preparation for battle, but hadn't yet taken out the sword at his waist, or either of the weapons held in cartridges on both arms.

"Fire Nation scum!" The pirate who stood in a fighting stance had his back to Yuri, but she could see the single scimitar in his hand, looking deadly. "You don't pay me, so what reason would I have to heed you? You're as bad as a damn stowaway you hear me?" He spat with contempt at the man's feet.

"Your employers didn't order you to this island to plunder and destroy. Your captain was paid good money to drop me off here while I made my interrogation, and then leave again when I was finished. You will not kill innocent people!"

"You should have thought about these so-called innocent people when you walked into the damn place in that damn getup, with your emblem shouting to the world who you are. That horn blared and what else were we supposed to do? In all the panic we got ourselves some good loot, too bad all them women escaped." Yuri swore she could hear the scum lick his lips, and shuddered. She couldn't wait anymore. Yuri slipped in from behind the pirate and very quietly slit his throat. She felt no remorse as she heard him choke on his own blood, the only thing running through her mind was that he was finally paying for his crimes, a drop of blood for every scream he pulled out of a poor woman or child, every human he had killed. His life was the only payment she could give the spirits of the dead, including her Aunt, for their murders.

Shing. Yuri looked up from the bloody body that had slumped to her feet, and saw that the man before her hand pulled out not his sword, but a fan, one with a Fire symbol on the front. For some reason, Yuri's eyes were drawn to something dangling from his hand—a bracelet with wooden beads, into which were carved a symbol that tugged at strings in the girl's memory. When it clicked, Yuri's breath became short, then her rage peaked to an all-time high.

"What are you doing here!" She screamed, drawing her blades up, readying for an attack. "Do not underestimate me, I will kill you if you don't tell me!"

"Normally I would fight you for stealing a kill from me, but I'm not here to spill blood to begin with." The man kept his stance completely defensive, unwilling to move or drop the fan shield while she brandished bloody weapons at him. "Put down your blades, and I will leave, taking these pirates with me. Let me go, and there will be no more bloodshed today."

But the recognition of the bracelet and the knowledge of what it meant had once again pushed Yuri beyond the edge of rational thinking. "Wrong answer." She breathed, and advanced, blades swinging.

He blocked the first blade with the fan shield easily, but barely had time to pull his neck out of the way of the second. She didn't lose her balance when her blade met air, but followed through just as she'd thought she might have to. With a step and twist under the man's arm, she was already sending a third swing towards his torso.

Yuri had counted on this man not to be incompetent, but she had missed one big part of her training—she'd forgotten about firebending. She felt a slicing pain down her back and knew she'd been burned. Turning quickly away from the man, she barely escaped singing her hair. Damn, I should have put it up and out of the way! Yuri cursed herself and once more faced the man, but was knocked backwards and pinned against a wall. She barely saw the darts fly, catching her clothes in loose places, as if pinning her without harming her had been his intention. On dart had come too close however, and Yuri could feel blood pouring down her left side. It soaked through her tunic and pants, and for a moment she was frightened.

Once sense came back to Yuri she remembered she could reverse the flow and heal herself, the man was already walking up close to where she was trapped. With all her concentration on healing herself as quickly as possible, Yuri didn't hear what the man said as he approached, but she could see his golden yellow eyes, and she saw in them something she never expected to see in a firebender's eyes. Compassion and concern mixed with curiousity. Don't be fooled, he's dangerous. You can use this, if he thinks you're weak, you can use this. She told herself, and when the darts were pulled out of the wood and he clothes, Yuri slumped forward unto the man's body, feigning weakness.

Keeping the image of Suki's necklace in her mind, the girl allowed him to lift her up supportively, and as soon as she had her arms free she did what only her anger allowed her to control. She held out a hand and touched the man's forehead and knocked him out. "I won't kill you quickly, I promise. I'll know exactly how Suki died before you meet your painful fate." She said the words in a voice she recognised as one she hadn't used in six months. But this time there was no blast that knocked her back to her scared, lonely self. After a moment she calmed, but in the end Yuri still knew what she must do.

Grabbing the body before it fell, Yuri heard voices and the sound of yelling. She ran out of the alley to catch a glimpse of the Pirate ship leaving. The yelling was coming from a crowd, and as Yuri approached she found Setto in the middle of it, being patted on the back and held up.

"Setto!" She called out, and the crowd dissipated as the boy looked at her, his eyes wide with terror. Confused, she followed his gaze down to her tunic and pants, which were still ripped and soaked in blood, even though her injuries had been healed.

"Pri—Yuri!" He shouted back, barely covering what he'd really been about to say. He ran up to her and grabbed her roughly by the shoulders. "What happened! I thought you said you'd be safe!" He demanded. The villagers left, uncomfortable with the drama between these strangers.

Yuri pulled herself out of the boy's grip. "I'm fine, just a couple of scratches." She sighed heavily. "There were a few things I should have told you, but I didn't know how you would react. I need your help to take a body up to my house. He's unconscious and won't wake up for at least an hour, but I need to interrogate him alone."

She didn't explain anything further and simply walked down the alley towards the knocked out firebender. Setto didn't ask questions, but his eyes begged for explanation every time Yuri caught him staring. Still, he obeyed, for some reason that she didn't understand trusting her. They made it to the house in the mountains without anyone seeing them, and Yuri opened a door she almost never used.

"The root cellar's down there. It's cold and dark so I'll set up a chair and some lamps." She said. "Tie him to the chair with his hands behind his back, and when I wake him up you must stay behind him and keep watching his hands, all right? He's a firebender, so if he tries to escape, I need you to knock him out with this." She handed Setto a frying pan, and though she thought he might laugh at it, he nodded dutifully.

"Let's get this done." Yuri said, and began her work. Well there's nothing to keep you on the island now, if Suki's dead. She's not coming back, you've no ties here anymore.