When they reached the safety of the eye of the storm, Zuko retreated into the ship again, removing himself from the crew's celebrations. Asuni and Iroh both watched as he left. Iroh remained on deck, caught in the crew's delight, while Asuni managed to slip away. She made a quick detour to retrieve the tea tray and replace it with fresh cups and a pot, and then she made her way to Zuko's room.
"My prince?" Asuni called through the door, knocking on it gently.
"Come in," came the muffled reply, and Asuni was surprised by how weary Zuko sounded. She pushed the door open and poked her head inside cautiously. Zuko stood dripping in the middle of his room, staring wordlessly at the wall. Asuni was somewhat unnerved to see that he hadn't even bothered to raise his body heat to evaporate the water.
She wasn't altogether surprised though. It had been a rough day all around. First the fights with Lieutenant Ji, then the rescue of the helmsman, and he'd even watched the Avatar fly away from him when the sky bison burst out of the water not ten feet from the ship without following.
"My prince, I brought tea," she said.
"Just set it on the table."
Asuni did as she was told, pausing to adjust the placement of the dishes on the tray so that it looked a bit more symmetrical. She glanced over her shoulder and saw that Zuko still hadn't dried himself off, and the cold water was starting to affect him. A trace of a shiver ran down his spine. Asuni sighed and picked up the towel from the tea tray, moving towards him.
Zuko flinched the moment she started rubbing at the rainwater on his unscarred cheek with the towel, like he hadn't even noticed her approach. He looked down at her, wide-eyed and scowling.
"What are you doing?"
"If you're not going to dry yourself off, someone has to do it," Asuni said, looking up at him in teasing exasperation. She froze, a gasp escaping her as a hot hand closed around her wrist. Her eyes fluttered from the hand up to golden eyes.
"I've got it," Zuko said, his grip shifting. His hand slid up hers, fingers brushing her own as he plucked the towel from her and started wiping his face off.
"O-Of course," Asuni stammered, feeling vaguely light-headed all of a sudden. She also felt warm…
Asuni smiled to herself as she realized the prince had finally warmed himself up, and his excess body heat was what she was feeling. Shaking herself free of… whatever that was, she reached up and started unbuckling the straps holding his shoulder plates in place.
"What are you doing now?" Zuko huffed, sounding mildly annoyed. Asuni glanced up at him, smiling slightly as she caught him wringing out his ponytail with the towel.
"You need to dry off your armor or it'll rust," she scolded gently. "And I don't think you want to wear heated metal, so… I'm taking it off."
"That's not your job," Zuko pointed out.
Asuni flicked a hand carelessly. "I'm here."
"Why are you here?"
"It's been a long day," she said with a shrug as she finished with the first buckle and moved to the one on the other shoulder. When it was done she lifted the whole shoulder piece off over his head. She had to rise up on her toes to do so, even when Zuko obligingly dipped his head to make it easier for her.
"That doesn't tell me why you came," Zuko pointed out as Azuni placed the shoulder piece on the waiting armor stand.
"I just thought you might like some company," Asuni replied breezily, turning back to him. She lifted up his right forearm and picked at the latch holding his greaves in place. It came loose after a moment and Asuni pulled the metal away.
Somehow, the sensation of warm skin smacked into her. She'd known she was technically holding his hand when she lifted it for easier access, but it suddenly seemed much more significant than that, the heat of Zuko's skin warming her from her fingertips to her toes.
Quickly she dropped his hand, feeling a blush stain her cheeks as she turned to the other greave.
"You visit me in the kitchen often enough," Asuni said, letting words spill out to distract herself as she removed the armor on his left arm. "I figured I could return the favor."
She placed the greaves on the armor stand as well and then returned to Zuko's side for some of the last pieces.
"Raise your arms," Asuni instructed quietly. Zuko did as she requested, lifting his arms slightly so she could get to the buckles over his ribs that held his chest and back plates in place. Asuni undid the fastener, catching the pieces before they could drop to the ground. She hefted them with a grunt and put them with the others.
Finally she turned to the last piece: the tassets. With trembling hands – totally justified, Asuni assured herself – she reached for the belt that held the tassets in place. The backs of her fingers brushed against the prince's stomach and she could feel ridged abdominal muscles. Her unhelpful brain supplied her with several images of Zuko training shirtless, reminding her vividly of what she was only a flimsy bit of fabric away from touching.
Hastily, she undid the buckle and pulled the tassets from around Zuko's hips, turning away from him in hopes that he hadn't noticed her blushing or the fact that she was breathing a little bit faster than she should have been.
Zuko watched every movement she made from the moment she started touching him with suspicion and surprise. He knew Asuni could find her way around a suit of armor, certainly, and it was hardly the first time he'd had someone put his armor on or take it off for him. There were a few pieces that were nigh impossible to get off or on by yourself.
But somehow this seemed so much more intimate than any time in the past. Asuni was so close to him that he could feel her warm breath and the heat of her body. When he breathed in, he could smell the scent of herbs and other kitchen smells that always seemed to cling to her from all the time she spent cooking. Every brush of her fingers felt vaguely through his clothes was like an electric shock.
He observed her face and hands as she worked, eyes flicking between them with equal interest. Her hands moved quickly and deftly over the latches and buckles holding his armor in place. Long fingers glided over leather straps elegantly. Her expression shifted with every movement, from pleased when she removed a new piece to annoyed when a buckle gave her trouble. It was more absorbing than it should have been.
When she got to the tassets that protected his thighs, he hadn't expected her to keep moving. He froze, going utterly, utterly still as she reached for the buckle just above his hips. When her fingers brushed his stomach he went so stiff he might as well have been made of stone. When she finally finished with that buckle and moved away, he couldn't decide if he missed the contact or was glad to see her go.
Asuni turned to face Zuko, just as determinedly avoiding his gaze as he was avoiding hers. If they hadn't been so diligently avoiding looking at each other, they might have noticed that both of their faces were blazing red with embarrassment.
"Right," Asuni said hastily, eyes darting around the room, looking everywhere but at her prince. "Well… enjoy your tea," she all but yelped, making a break for the door and shutting it hastily behind her. With a groan, Zuko slumped onto his bed, burying his face in his hands and trying to ignore the knot of warmth that had settled in his chest.
Zuko and Asuni determinedly avoided each other for the next four days while they waited for the awkwardness to dissipate. For her part, Asuni couldn't believe how much it had affected her to be so close to her prince. Zuko was struggling with the same problem, startled when he recalled the way he'd reacted to her touch.
"Your move."
"Eh?"
Asuni looked up from the Pai Sho game she was currently involved in again against Iroh. He observed her carefully, noting how distracted he seemed, and nodded to the board.
"Your move," he repeated.
"Oh… oh!" Asuni exclaimed, hastily observing the board and making a move. She sent a furtive glance in Zuko's direction.
He was absorbed in a conversation with Lieutenant Ji, bent over a map. Thankfully, the two seemed to be getting along much better since their joint rescue.
"We haven't been able to pick up the Avatar's trail since the storm," Ji explained. "But if we continue heading north east-"
A shadow filled the room and everyone turned to look as a ship twice the size of theirs slowly pulled up alongside. Zuko went to the window, growling quietly when he recognized the name of the vessel.
"What do they want?" he growled.
"Perhaps a sporting game of Pai Sho?" Iroh suggested hopefully. Asuni gave him an offended look.
"Hey, what am I?"
"Sorry, my dear, but you're not playing at your best today. You seem distracted," Iroh pointed out. He was surprised when Asuni flushed sharply, her jaw snapping shut. She turned back to the board, making a show of working on her next move.
An officer from the other ship came aboard and was escorted into the wheelhouse. Zuko leaned against a control panel, glaring at the soldier as he unfurled a scroll. On it was an illustration of the Avatar.
"The hunt for the Avatar is being given prime importance," he announced importantly. "All information regarding the Avatar must be reported directly to Admiral Zhao." He rolled up the scroll and thrust it back into his belt.
"Zhao has been promoted!" Iroh noted, sliding one of his pieces forwards. "Good for him."
"I've got nothing to report to Zhao," Zuko said, giving the soldier such a dark look Asuni was privately impressed he hadn't run for the hills yet. She made a quick move in the game and then continued eavesdropping. "Now get off my ship and let us pass."
"Admiral Zhao isn't letting ships in or out of this area," the soldier countered.
Asuni sighed and placed her hands over her ears. Just in time too. A moment later Zuko snapped, stabbing a finger towards the door and roaring, "Off my ship!"
"Excellent!" Iroh cried as the officer was escorted out by Zuko's men.
"Eh?" Asuni muttered, looking back to the board. She face palmed as she realized that her earlier hasty move had left her wide open.
"I take the pot!" Iroh grinned.
Asuni stood outside Zuko's door with a tea tray once again. She knew he'd spent most of the day after Zhao's man left shooting fireballs at nothing on the deck. He'd been dejected ever since then. Asuni was hoping that maybe some tea and company would perk him up a little bit, not that Zuko ever really qualified as perky. In fact the very idea was a little unnerving.
No armor removing this time, she scolded herself, and raised her hand to knock. But then she realized that the door was already open a crack. Curiously, Asuni placed a hand to the door and pushed a bit, peering inside.
Asuni called softly, "My pri-?" She cut herself off, watching in interest.
Zuko was clad only in black pants, sitting on the edge of his bed and pulling on soft boots. On the bed next to him lay a black shirt and his bao broadswords. Asuni zoned in on the third item on the bed. A wooden mask carved and painted to resemble a Water Tribe demon.
A small smirk curbed her mouth. The queenly mask she wore was from the Fire Nation fairy tale, and here Zuko was donning one from a Water Tribe legend. She found it incredibly amusing that they'd swapped cultures.
But that wasn't important. What was important was that Zuko was clearly planning something where he needed to avoid being seen, and that meant it was risky. And if he was going to try something risky, then Asuni was going along.
Holding the tea tray in both hands she got a firmer grip so that the dishes didn't rattle and slide as she darted away from his room and back to the kitchen. Asuni deposited the tea tray on the table and fairly flew to the cubby in her room. She stripped in a flash and pulled on her clothes.
She didn't know how much time she had, so she didn't bother with armor. Instead she stuck to her black clothes and mask, attaching her sword to her hip and sliding her clawed chain whip up her sleeve. Asuni tugged on gloves as she ran down the halls back to Zuko's room.
She was instantly glad that she hadn't bothered with armor. She arrived just in time to see Zuko slipping out of his room. With silent steps she trailed after him as he made his way up to the deck. She lingered in the doorway while Zuko went over the side. Asuni gave him some time to get far enough away from the ship that he wouldn't notice and then went over the edge herself.
Asuni stayed underwater as she followed him to land. Already, she could guess where he was going. She knew Zhao had gone to Puhai Stronghold, which was very close to where they guessed the Avatar to be. Also, Puhai Stronghold housed the Yu Yan archers. If any force could bring down the Avatar, they could.
Zuko climbed onto shore and Asuni watched, only her eyes visible above the surface, as he steamed the water from his clothes and moved into the trees. Asuni climbed out a few minutes later as dry as a bone and took off to the right of him. She moved in a wide loop so that she would be coming at him from a different direction.
He'd worked with 'the woman in black' knowingly before, so Asuni decided that it was probably fine if she joined him again this time. He probably half-expected her to show up by this point. But that didn't mean she wanted him to have any idea who she was.
She kept the loop up until she was coming at him from the right, curving wide until she nearly hit the main road into the stronghold. A faint rattling sound came from that direction, accompanied by the grunts and snuffles of a komodo rhino which Asuni took to mean a cart was coming in. She filed that away as a possible means of entry.
Asuni melted from the bushes and fell into step next to Zuko as he raced through the trees. Aside from a slight stutter in his running, he didn't react at all to seeing her. He gave her a glance and a nod and kept going. Asuni mirrored him, keeping pace.
They stopped on the edge of the trees that surrounded the stronghold, crouching down in the underbrush to keep from being seen.
"You know who I am, don't you?" Zuko whispered to her. Asuni smirked behind her mask, adopting that high-pitched, slithery voice she used when in disguise.
"I was assigned to guard you. I always know where you are."
Zuko restrained a shudder as that voice rolled over him. He'd forgotten how bad it was in the time since he'd heard her. But he wasn't surprised by what she said. In fact, he'd half-expected her to appear the moment he left the ship.
"So how do we get in?" Zuko hissed.
Asuni pointed down the road. She'd faintly heard the rattling while she'd been running with Zuko, and now its source was revealed. A cart pulled by a komodo rhino was coming up the road leading into Puhai. Zuko nodded in understanding and sank further into the underbrush. Asuni crouched by him, waiting.
When the cart was even with their bush, they both broke cover, rolling out from the bushes and seizing the mechanics under the cart, levering themselves up with their backs inches from the ground. The cart wasn't terribly wide, so they ended up crushed together. Asuni could feel Zuko shoulder and upper arm pressed firmly against hers, and their thighs brushed whenever the cart went over a particularly rough patch of road.
Slowly, the area around them began to get lighter as the torches around the stronghold gate illuminated the road. Asuni twisted her head to look at Zuko and saw him tensing, waiting to move. Footsteps could be heard, as well as voices, and a pair of regulation boots appeared at the side of the cart. They paused, the bearer's torch flickering for a moment.
Asuni smothered a sharp inhale. They had only seconds. She seized Zuko's shoulder and gestured frantically at the man. He seemed to understand her fears. They both let go of the cart, scrambling out from the back and then diving into the bed. They sheltered behind the crates. Asuni took a moment to read the labels and noticed arrows was among the shipment. She frowned at that. The Yu Yan usually ordered arrows on a very regular basis, but this was about a week to early. Clearly they'd been on some particularly special mission if they needed to resupply this early.
They trundled through the first gate, and then the second before the cart came to a stop with a groan. Moving almost as one, Asuni and Zuko leapt out of the back of the cart and rolled to safety behind a stack of crates. They kept low as they crept around the soldiers unloading their cart and hurried to an open staircase set into the wall.
Zuko gave the woman next to him a glance as they moved through the hallways, checking doors whenever it was safe and ducking into corners to avoid passing guards. She moved gracefully, every movement flowing into the next. She moved with absolute silence, not even the faintest tap when her shoes hit the ground. But there was still no clue as to who she was. No exposed patch of skin, no glint of her eye color from the depths of her mask, not even a stray hair poking out from her hood.
"-not what I expected."
"You've seen the posters."
"Yeah, but I didn't really believe…"
"What, that he's a kid?"
The light from the torch around the corner flickered as two shadows passed in front of it, soldiers having a conversation. Unlike the time at the Fire Temple, there was no niche to duck into, no carving to hide behind. The only option was up into the shadowy rafters above them.
Zuko, being taller, merely gave a leap and caught the beam with a grunt, heaving himself up onto the bar. He stretched himself out, keeping low, and reached his hands down to Asuni. She waved him off, taking a few steps to the side. She ran at the wall, catching it with one foot and using it to push herself higher. Her hands connected with the bar and she used the momentum to swing herself up next to him.
"I mean he is the Avatar though, can't deny that."
"I can't believe the Admiral got him. Although he is a kid, so I guess he can't be that well trained." A laugh. "But then I guess if he wasn't he wouldn't be in that big cell in the middle."
"No, I've got a friend on the Prince's ship. See, he wrote me a couple of weeks ago talking about this kid rising out of the ocean on a wave of water and bringing down an iceberg on the front of the ship. He's a big deal."
"Well, so are the Yu Yan archers…"
The soldiers passed harmlessly beneath them, still chatting as they rounded the corner and vanished from sight. Asuni and Zuko dropped from the rafters, landing in crouches. They both looked at each other and nodded in understanding, turning and heading in the direction of the stairs.
It was easy work to get up onto the top of the wall of the main compound. There was a startling lack of soldiers as they stepped back out into the cool night air, keeping under the crenellations and up against the side.
Asuni paused for a moment, peeking over the wall, and saw where all the soldiers had gone. They were gathered in the courtyard, staring up at the balcony. Zhao stood there, voice echoing as he spoke arrogantly down to his subjects.
"I hate him."
Asuni turned to look at Zuko, who had also paused and looked out to see Zhao's speechifying. She couldn't see his face, but she could just imagine it. His mouth twisted down into a scowl and his eyes blazing with that angry light that made it clear to anyone around him that it was time to take cover.
Asuni smiled behind her own mask and hissed back, "If you'd like, I could arrange to have him killed."
"I might take you up on that."
They continued along the wall towards the central tower. Asuni knew the layout of Puhai and knew exactly where they were going. Inside the central tower were large, individual cells where a person would be restrained hand and foot by chains. Puhai's main function had originally been guarding extremely dangerous bending prisoners. The Yu Yan were developed so that any escapes could be dealt with swiftly, decisively, and, most importantly, from a distance. But over time the Yu Yan became more useful than the cells themselves, and Puhai became mostly a base for the Yu Yan, with the odd prisoner every now and then.
"This way," Asuni whispered when they entered the tower, tugging Zuko's sleeve gently and guiding him down a hallway towards the cells, following her mental blueprint of the place. She threw out a hand, gesturing for him to halt as they reached the hallway that led to the cell. Pressing back against the walls, they peered around.
At the end of the hall were two large doors made of heavy metal. Of far more pressing importance were the four guards standing in front of it, stone-faced and serious.
A warm chest pressed up against her back and Asuni flinched when she felt Zuko towering over her. He lowered his head and whispered right next to her ear, "How do you want to do this?"
Asuni fought off a shiver – that was weird, it was pretty warm in Puhai – and replied, "Try to get them to come to us one at a time. I could take all four of them at once, but we have to make sure none of them raise the alarm, or we'll have the whole fortress down on our heads."
"Okay," Zuko said, nodding. He pointed up. "I'll take some from above."
"Wish I'd brought my knockout bombs," Asuni grumbled, cursing herself for forgetting them.
"Any idea on how to get their attention?" Zuko asked.
Asuni looked down at her belt. There was nothing there but her sword, and she sure wasn't going to throw that to get attention. She cursed herself again for forgetting the knockout pellets she had concealed in her cubby and drew the three-clawed prong from her sleeve. She dragged the hooks along the stone wall, releasing an unearthly scratching sound. She felt the heat from her back vanished as Zuko took to the rafters again.
Asuni waited, tense, for the first wave to come. By the shadow flickering on the way, she saw it was just one man. She signaled to Zuko that she was going to take him. When the soldier came around the corner he was already in a ready stance. He punched, attempting to catch her with a point-blank fire blast.
Asuni spun around it, her right hand leading and connected with the man's extended forearm. Her fingers locked on him as she took a step, pulling him into her reaching hand. Her left hand caught him by the throat, forcing him backwards and over her extended leg. She forced him to the ground and downed him with a swift punch to the face.
Zuko watched the woman in black move through the takedown effortlessly. She flowed like water through each step. Water… he wondered if she was a bender. He'd only ever seen her use that clawed hook of hers, but he guessed she was just as proficient with the sword that hung at her side. She tilted her head up to him and he could almost feel smugness and pride rolling off of her, as if she was saying 'look what I did.'
More footsteps came, this time a pair. Two soldiers rounded the corner. They made the mistake of pausing for a moment, their eyes going from their fallen comrade to Asuni crouching over him. The first was taken out as Zuko dropped from the ceiling, bearing him to the ground with his weight and knocking him out with a hard hit. Asuni took the second one, claw flying out and hooking his shoulder, yanking him into her punch. He barely let out a grunt before sliding to the ground, unconscious.
"Go!" Asuni hissed. She and Zuko broke cover, racing around the corner. Luckily they did, too, because the last guard was reaching for the warning horn on the wall next to him. He raised it to his lips, only for it to be ripped away by a metal claw, flying back into Asuni's hand. With a grunt, she smashed the horn over his head. The horn cracked into pieces, falling around the soldier as he collapsed.
Zuko looked down at the destroyed instrument. He couldn't help but be a little amused.
"Think he's done?" he asked mildly.
Asuni surprised herself and him when she let out a little, hissing chuckle, swatting his shoulder and scolding, "Shut up."
They both froze. Zuko's mask was tilted down towards her and Asuni knew he was taken aback by the suddenly friendly gesture from his faceless ally, who, up until now, had been fairly distant. To cover her awkwardness, she opened the door, and the pair of them slid inside.
The room inside was quite a sight. In the middle was a raised platform where the Avatar was suspended, chains around his wrists and ankles. His clothes were tattered and his cheeks and hands were faintly smudged with dirt. He stared at them fearfully, mouth and eyes wide.
Zuko didn't help matters when he plucked his dao broadsword from his back, separating it into two with a flurry of spins.
"Stop it!" Asuni scolded. "You're scaring the poor boy!"
The spinning paused and Asuni rolled her eyes. Put a mask on him and suddenly Zuko got melodramatic, it seemed.
"W-Who're you?" the Avatar stammered, curling in on himself protectively as well as he was able with his limbs tied. Asuni glanced up at Zuko, and then realized he couldn't speak for fear of his voice being recognized.
"We're here to get you away from Zhao," Asuni said. She saw the Avatar shudder at the sound of her hissing voice, and again as she approached the dias and drew her sword.
"Wh-What're you-?"
Four quick strikes and the shackles dropped harmlessly to the ground. The Avatar's wrists dropped and her rubbed one absently, likely trying to get the blood flow back.
"Th-Thanks, uh…" He peered back her to Zuko standing by the door silently, his swords still in hand, but resting slackly by his side. He leaned up to her and whispered, "Is he gonna kill me?"
"Not today," Asuni replied, amused.
"Uh… okay?"
Zuko opened the door and they left the cell, making their way back down the hallway. Asuni and Zuko crept along side-by-side, the Avatar trailing behind them uncomfortably.
"My frogs! Come back and stop thawing out!"
Asuni turned around, restraining herself from a nice, hearty face-palm as the Avatar dropped to his knees in a doorway, grabbing desperately for half-frozen frogs trying desperately to make their way to freedom.
Asuni heard a soft growl come out of Zuko as he stalked down the hallway, seizing the avatar by the back of his shawl, and started dragging him after them.
"Wait, my friends need to suck on those frogs!" he protested, arms flailing wildly.
Asuni would have dearly loved to ask, but she supposed she had bigger problems. Namely, escaping Puhai with herself, the prince, and the Avatar intact.
"The best way out will b e the drainage tunnels," Asuni explained. "The entrance to one is just outside the stairs where we came in."
Zuko nodded, so they backtracked through the stronghold. While Asuni and Zuko were both dressed for stealth in blacks and browns, the Avatar's bright yellow and orange didn't exactly make him inconspicuous. It was a good thing that whatever speech Zhao was having was only just breaking up, because there were only a few soldiers roaming around.
They made it out into the courtyard and Asuni gestured to the large grate. The slats across it were easily as wide as she was, and there was enough space for all of them to slip down between them with ease. They splashed into the rushing water drained away from the rains the night before.
They moved along under the courtyard unseen, creeping across to the gate. Zuko poked his head out of another grate and looked around. He peered back down and gestured that it was safe to go up. He gripped the bars and pulled himself out, followed by Asuni and then the Avatar.
They moved to the wall, keeping in its shadow as they headed for the gate. The crept along it, keeping low and moving fast.
The compound was suddenly ablaze with lights as an alarm blared. Clearly, the tied-up soldiers and the empty cell. Asuni would forever blame the Avatar's lurid taste in fashion for the fact that, almost immediately, a soldier pointed to them and cried, "There! By the wall!"
Soldiers were still scrambling to get organized, which was good for them. It left them a straight shot to the gate. Zuko plucked his swords from his back, gripping them tightly and gesturing to it. They took off running, the Avatar taking the lead with a cry of, "Stay close to me!"
"The Avatar has escaped! Close all the gates!"
Asuni could hear Zhao up on the balcony, screaming at his soldiers to stop them. The gates began to grind shut, a line of pikemen emerging and forming a blockade in front of their exit. The Avatar gave a jump and landed with one foot extended, arms thrusting forwards. A gust of wind ripped off of his arms and sent the pikemen flying out of their way.
"He's good to have around," Asuni muttered.
They barreled past the line, but these guards were good. They quickly got to their feet. The Avatar had already charged past, but Asuni and Zuko found themselves caught between a pair of pikemen who'd recovered the fastest.
Instinctively they spun around and pressed back to back. Asuni drew her jian and raised it to block the pikeman's downward swing. She felt Zuko's muscles bunch against her back as he did a similar move on his side. She shoved the pikeman back and pressed a button on the hilt of her sword. The blade collapsed into arrow shaped segments, connected by a thin wire. When the pikeman attacked the next time, she lashed out, the segments wrapping around the shaft of his weapon and digging it. She tugged, diverting it to the side and ripping it from the man's hand.
"Down!" Asuni shouted, and she felt Zuko crouch down behind her. She spun, the sword trailing around her like a whip. It took both pikemen across the face. They fell back, clutching their wounds, but more took their places.
Then the Avatar was there. With the broken-off shaft of a spear, he swept around the soldiers, blowing them away with gusts of wind. Then he raised the staff in a wide arch, wind ripping up from the ground. Asuni and Zuko were flung into the air. Asuni was far from expecting it, and she figured Zuko was probably as surprised as she was, but they managed to land in neat rolls on top of the walls.
The Avatar, staff spinning over his head to keep him aloft, rose over the wall.
"Get him and go!" Asuni ordered as soldiers came at them from either side. Zuko raised a hand, and she got the feeling he was going to protest. "Go!" she shouted. The Avatar Clamped his legs around Zuko's torso and picked him up, carrying him over the wall and across to the next.
Asuni let out a war cry and pressed another button on the hilt of her sword. It retracted back into sword form and she swung at the closest man, diverting his attack and sliding past him. She didn't have any desire to take the men down, she just needed to get past them and over to the guard tower. A cable stretched between it and the corresponding tower on the next wall for delivering messages and goods, and for flying signal flags. And, if Eiji could be believed, for hanging out laundry to dry.
Asuni didn't cut through the soldiers so much as dance around them, using their own momentum and her dexterity to throw them behind her to spin around them, making her way to the tower. When she broke free of the press she full-out sprinted to the wire, stowing her sword as she went. Asuni pulled the clawed hook from her sleeve and hooked it over the wire, clinging to the chain. She gave a minor prayer thanking Agni she was wearing gloves and her hands wouldn't get horrible pinched, and then kicked off, sliding along the wire to the next guard tower.
It was, thankfully, empty. For the first time in a while Asuni was able to take a moment and observe what was going on. Her eyes widened as she realized that even though she'd made it across, Zuko and the Avatar hadn't. Instead, they were tumbling down into a press of soldiers below, the final gate closing behind them and cutting off their escape.
Asuni ran, faster than she'd probably ever run. Her hook flashed out and caught the crenellation and she leapt over the side of the wall. The hook caught just long enough to swing her towards the gate and then she disengaged. The gate was designed with interlocking spike to help keep it in place. Asuni used these as a ladder to make her way down, leaping from left to right as she made her way down, landing on each one in turn until she'd joined the prince and the Avatar on the ground.
The gate slammed shut behind her at the same time as a blast of fire came from the soldiers surrounding them. The Avatar pushed Zuko behind him, encasing them all in a protective bubble of spinning air. The fire broke against it harmlessly, dissipating around them.
"Hold your fire!" The Avatar let the bubble fade and Asuni watched as Zhao approached through the line of soldiers. His face was caught somewhere between rage and relief. "The Avatar must be captured alive!"
They had the same idea, but Zuko moved first, grabbing the Avatar and pressing one of his swords to his neck warningly. The soldiers tensed and Zhao's eyes narrowed.
"It's little to us if he dies," Asuni hissed in her creepy voice. "But it's everything to you. Let us walk free, and you still have a chance. Otherwise, you'll be sending his head to the Fire Lord along with an account of your failure."
Zhao's eyes blazed with hate as he stared at her, unwilling gritting out, "Open the gate."
"But sir!" one of the soldiers protested.
"Do it!" Zhao roared.
Behind them, the gate began to grind open. Zuko backed up slowly, his blade still pressed to the Avatar's neck. Asuni kept behind the Avatar as well as the continued to back awkwardly down the road. She and Zuko watched on high alert as they waited for Zhao to try and stop them, for a soldier to attack. Something.
They were several dozen yards away from the gate when that something finally did happen. Asuni heard a whizzing sound, and something struck her temple hard. As blackness fell around her, she saw Zuko crumpling next to her. Her last feeling was absolute horror at what might have happened to her prince.
()()()()()()
Light hit her eyes at about the same time the smell of dirt hit her nose. That added to the sound of chirping birds made it clear to Asuni that they were in a forest. Something s digging into her back and she twitched.
"You're awake."
Asuni lunged in the direction of the voice instinctively, bearing the speaker to the ground under her. It registered that she knew the voice about the same time her eyes opened and she saw Zuko under her, his hood and mask gone and his eyes wide in surprise.
Mask gone.
Asuni recoiled from his as quickly as she'd attacked, hands flying to her face. Sure enough, the mask was still there. She let out a sigh of relief, but that still begged the question of why her mask was still there. Zuko had a chance to take it off, see who she was, and replace it. She'd never have known if he'd done it while she was unconscious.
That could wait. First things first.
"I'm sorry," Asuni rasped, and Zuko nodded, straightening up.
"It's fine," he said stiffly. He seemed a bit more uncomfortable around her now. Asuni suspected it had something to do with the fact that his face was exposed and hers wasn't.
"What happened?" she pressed.
"Something knocked us out. The Avatar got us to safety. I woke up. He talked to me. He left."
Every word was clipped and tight, and Asuni began to revise her opinion on why Zuko was so stiff. It may have nothing to do with her and everything to do with whatever the Avatar had said to him.
"May I ask…?" she began, trailing off leadingly.
"No," was the immediate and finite reply. Asuni nodded respectfully. It was his business, after all. He could keep it to himself, and an unknown, masked woman wasn't exactly the first person you trusted.
"Alright, then, may I ask why you didn't remove my mask? You've tried to before."
Zuko's eyes flicked to her mask and away. His fingers twitched and Asuni got the feeling he was fighting the urge to just rip the mask off her face and see who he was dealing with.
For a moment she thought he wasn't going to give her an answer on that either. But he finally said, "It… didn't seem right."
"Not right?" Asuni questioned, confused. "You're a prince. Everything is your right."
Zuko scoffed at that. "Maybe, maybe not. But you're hiding your face for a reason, and that reason's your own. I can… understand not wanting people to see you." One hand drifted up to his scarred cheek seemingly independent of his will. He gave it a glare and smacked it back down onto his thigh.
"One day you'll see me, my prince," Asuni promised him, sliding onto her knees. She bowed, her hands folding on the ground in front of her formally. She sat up again, smiling teasingly.
"Any theories on my mask?"
He snorted. "Going by your voice, I'm guessing scars."
Asuni chuckled, but with her voice disguised, it came out more like a raspy cough. "Not hardly. Anything else?"
Zuko shook his head.
"Well, come up with one for me when you see me next," Asuni said, rising to her feet. She extended a hand to Zuko. He took it, pulling himself upright.
"And when will that be?" Zuko asked.
"One can never tell," Asuni replied, allowing herself her own little melodrama. If Zuko was allowed, so was she. She dropped onto one knee, tucking an arm in front of and behind herself. She stayed that way for a moment before shooting back to her feet. "Until then, my prince… I'm always watching."
With that, Asuni turned and sprinted into the trees.
This chapter did not want to get written. I think it had something to do with the fact that The Blue Spirit is such a well-liked episode and I wanted to do it justice. I hope I did, because this ended up being the longest chapter yet. With this author's note, I think it's 7,000 words. I blame that bit at the beginning. Originally that was just supposed to be a small conversation between Zuko and Asuni, or 'Asuko' as some reviewers christened them! but they got away from me and suddenly Asuni was stripping off hsi armor. Naughty Asuni... I'm pleased with how it came out though, and I hope you are too. Tell me in a REVIEW!