Zuko watched for a second and then motioned Akira to follow him. They walked across to the clearing and stopped at the outer edge of the large circle of kids. Two boys stood in the middle, yelling at each other.

"That's Arashi." Zuko told Akira as he motioned to the taller boy. "Don't ever get mixed up with him. He's trouble, and doesn't respect anybody. The only reason he's not in the coal mines is because his father is an admiral. The shorter kid is Remi, but I'll bet you anything Arashi will call him Smalls. The kid hates that name."

"Give me back my dagger." Remi commanded. He looked about Azula's age and was way too small to be picking fights.

"Ha! No way! You're not even supposed to have it at school." The Arashi taunted holding the dagger way above the Remi's head.

"I said give it back!" The Remi shouted as he took a couple of steps toward his opponent. Arashi just raised the dagger higher above his head and gave a snort.

"You couldn't make me even if you tried Smalls." As soon as the words left his lips, the smaller boy stepped closer, so they were only about six inches away from each other. He looked up at Arashi and growled,

"Don't call me Smalls, and I want my dagger back!"

"What… Smalls? But it fits you so well!"

Remi's eyes narrowed into slits and in the next second, his fist collided with his classmates face. The victim of the punch howled in pain and grabbed his cheek, right below his eye. Arashi recovered quickly and punched the smaller boy in the chest so hard it knocked him off his feet. Remi laid on the ground with his face twisted in pain and gasping for air, but didn't move. Arashi was still intent on getting revenge for his now bruised and somewhat swollen cheek bone so; he started towards the other boy again, with anger burning in his eyes. Akira knew that if someone didn't help the younger boy he could get seriously injured. She didn't see anyone moving to help Remi, so she pushed her way through the crowd and ran to his side. Zuko yelled for her to come back, but she barley heard him. She ran into the circle and punched Arashi in the jaw, sending him spinning off to the side. She knelt down beside Remi, checking his condition. Zuko watched in horror as Arashi slowly got up and walked up behind Akira. He grabbed her by the collar and threw her to the side. She let out a surprised yelp of pain as her airway was momentarily closed off. Akira paused to regain her strength, and felt the anger boiling inside her. Arashi had moved his attention back to Remi and Akira took the opportunity to quickly move herself into a crouch. She leapt into the air and tackled Arashi; knocking him to the ground. He grabbed her and tried to flip her off him, but she stuck to him like a burr. They wrestled for a second more but soon Arashi's brute strength had outmatched Akira's quickness and she was pinned to the ground. Akira struggled, but soon found that Arashi's weight on top of her was too much to escape from. His weight crushed her beneath him and Arashi could feel her struggling to breathe. He raised his fist to strike her and Akira prayed that the inevitable blow wouldn't knock her out. Her eyes widened as she saw Arashi's arm tense and his fist get tighter. She froze with fear and couldn't move. Her mind screamed at her to shut her eyes and turn her head, but she couldn't even breathe. Arashi pulled his arm back a little bit and then time seemed to slow to a stop. Akira felt him release all the energy in his arm and as his fist began to rocket towards her face. Suddenly the fist disappeared and Arashi's weight was lifted off her. She gulped a mouthful of air as time returned again and she regained control of her body. She slowly pushed herself up into a sitting position and stared at her feet, trying to make sense of what just happened.

Zuko watched Arashi quickly pin Akira down and raise his fist. He pushed through the kids in front of him and ran towards the boy. Zuko grabbed Arashi's wrist right as it started to drop towards Akira's face. He used the other boy's momentum against him and with a turn of his arm, Arashi tipped backwards, and let out a surprised yelp. Zuko gave an almost effortless push and Arashi fell backwards to the hard, dusty ground. Arashi's head connected with a sickening thud and he let out a moan but didn't move. Zuko glared at Arashi for a heartbeat more, but quickly turned his attention to Akira and knelt down beside her.

"Are you okay?" He asked in a concerned voice.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She said as looked into his face. "Thanks."

"All right! What in Agni's name is going on here?! I want to know what happened right now!" Professor Chan's voice boomed through the courtyard, immediately dispersing the circle of kids to the outer walls and corners. The bell that signaled the end of recess rang and all the students slowly returned to their class rooms. Professor Chan surveyed the scene in front of him and saw Remi sitting away from the others, breathing heavily and holding his chest. Arashi was sprawled out on his back, moaning and holding his head with his hands. Zuko was crouched next to Akira who had a red line across her throat that indicated she had probably been choked at some point. Professor Chan sighed and called the school nurse to the courtyard. She ran out and immediately started checking over Remi and Arashi. Professor Chan walked over to Akira and Zuko and knelt down beside them.

"Alright. Now, I want to know what happened." He asked in a serious tone. Akira exchanged a look with Zuko before starting the story. She told Professor Chan about Arashi taking Remi's dagger and not giving it back, and how they got into a fight and Arashi knocking the wind out of Remi with one punch. She recapped her attempt at helping Remi and her short fight with Arashi, but she trailed off just before the part where Zuko had saved her. Akira took a sharp breath and stared at the ground in front of her with sightless eyes. New images of the fist coming down on her flowed through her mind, previously lost in the recent memories of what had just occurred. She exhaled slowly and shook her head, trying to rid it of the pictures.

Zuko squeezed her shoulder, trying his best to comfort her. He turned to Professor Chan and explained the rest of the fight.

"And before Arashi could hit her I kinda… well… flipped him over backwards." Zuko said uncomfortably, knowing that the move he had just executed was hard for most experts and was impossible for regular teens. He rubbed the back of his neck somewhat embarrassed by his obviously advanced fighting skills. All his life he tried to fit in with the other kids and pretend he wasn't the Fire Prince when he was at school. He never got into fights because he didn't want to be a show off and he certainly didn't like the fact that he had an audience when he flipped Arashi. "Look, I didn't mean to hurt him I just was trying to protect Akira." Professor Chan sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. He looked up again and his eyes had an uncharacteristic kindness shining in them.

"Listen, because this is your first day, Akira and because, Zuko, you were just trying to protect your friend, I'm only going to give you both one detention. Stay after class and we can talk more about it later. For the time being, let's get back to the classroom."

Zuko helped Akira to her feet and the three walked back to the classroom in silence. As soon as they reached the class room, Zuko and Akira quietly slid into two empty front row seats. Zuko could feel every single kid in the room staring at him. He slumped a little farther down in his seat and let out a sigh. This was going to be a long day.

Zuko sat by the window and watched the last few kids disappear around the front of the school. He sighed and looked around the classroom. School had just gotten out about ten minutes ago, but the building was already empty. Professor Chan had left just a couple seconds ago to meet with another teacher about something. Lucky for us, when Professor Chan goes somewhere he usually doesn't come back till detention is almost done. Zuko thought to himself. Remi sat in the back corner and was working hard on the paper that Professor Chan had assigned to the five kids stuck in detention. Arashi sat a couple seats in front of Remi and had a big bag of ice strapped to the back of his head and his jaw had a nice purplish tinge forming where Akira had punched him. He also appeared to be doodling instead of writing, but that wasn't anything new. Akira sat a couple seats to the left and was working on the assignment that they were supposed to complete. Ha! There's no way I'm writing some stupid paper on why the Colonies are an important trade center. Zuko turned around and studied the kid that sat a couple seats behind him. He was a short wimpy looking kid that had a goofy grin plastered on his face. His hair was pulled back into a top-knot, but it looked like it was going to come loose any second. Zuko realized that he was in the class below him and was regularly caught pulling pranks on teachers and other students. Suddenly the kid looked up from his paper and caught Zuko staring at him.

"Hey! What's your name?" The kid suddenly asked, with his stupid smile still stuck to his face.

"Uh… Zuko. Yours?" Zuko replied after a second.

"Daichi. So... what're you in for?"

"Beating the living crap out of that guy." Zuko responded with a grin as he pointed to Arashi.

"You wish! If you hadn't ganged up on me with her then you would be the one with the ice pack stuck to your head!" Arashi protested.

"Shut up koala-sheep brain. Nobody cares." Akira glared at him and Arashi just gave her a dirty look and returned to his doodling.

"So… let me get this straight… You beat him up with her help? Why is he in here then?" Daichi asked. Zuko sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Okay, here's the real story…" He started at the beginning and recapped the entire fight.

"So you were just protecting her from him…" Daichi said with a thoughtful look, as if he was finally making sense of the story.

"Uhh… yeah… pretty much." Zuko said.

"I see… so… Is she your girlfriend?" Daichi asked with a mischievous grin.

"What?! No! She's just… a friend…" Zuko stammered.

"Right… So, do you happen to like this… 'friend'?" Daichi questioned as he cocked his head and stroked an imaginary beard.

"Like? Well, sure. I mean; I like her, but as a friend… not like like. Just like…" Zuko stumbled over his own words and suddenly he dropped his shoulders and sighed. "Okay… never mind."

"Sure man… whatever you say." Daichi laughed.

"Okay. You guys do know I'm right here and can hear you, right?"Akira asked as she turned around and faced the two boys.

"Yeah… I was kind of hoping that Zuko here would declare his undying love for you, but it didn't exactly work out that way." Daichi explained. Akira laughed and Zuko just glared at the younger boy.

"So, you know what we got detention for. Why are you here?" Akira asked him.

"Eh. Crackin' jokes in class, harmless pranks... the usual. Actually it's kinda nice to see some new faces in here. Normally I'm stuck with Kaito and Professor Chan for company. Not much fun. Kaito actually isn't bad, but he can be kind of annoying. And Professor Chan… don't even get me started on that man. Actually he's kinda cool when you get to know him and Kaito likes to draw and carve stuff on the desks just to piss Professor Chan off. You should have seen the look on his face when he found Kaito's huge carving on the back desk. I mean it was like, surprise, anger, respect and amusement all at once. Oh! And then there was this one. -" Zuko slapped a hand over Daichi's mouth cutting off his story..

"Do you ever stop talking?" Zuko asked.

"I wou ef yo et go uf my mouf…" Daichi said, his words muffled by Zuko's hand. Zuko released his grip and wiped the spit off on his pant leg as he scrunched his nose up in disgust.

"Thank you. So, what's your name?" Daichi turned to Akira. "No wait! Let me guess… mmm… is it Azalia? Because you're as pretty as one." Zuko rolled his eyes and groaned.

"No, but you're close. It's Akira." Akira giggled.

"I see! Well then my lovely Akira, will you please come over here and help me with my paper? I have seemed to hit a dead end on my knowledge in this particular subject." Daichi said with an almost perfect imitation of one of the upper class generals that Akira often met with her father.

"Why of course sir. I would be honored to assist you with your paper." Akira responded as she walked over and kneeled next to his desk.

"Ah. Your help is much appreciated. I will forever be in your debt." Daichi pushed himself up to a kneel as well and bowed deeply to Akira. She giggled and then explained some ways he could meet the 300 word requirement that Professor Chan had set earlier. Zuko watched them and felt a wave of jealousy start to swell inside him, but he quickly pushed it away and started to work on his own paper. Might as well finish this. No point in getting in any more trouble than I'm already in.

Akira had just finished with Daichi and was now sitting cross-legged at her own desk. She bit the end of her pen as she stared at the blank sheet of paper in front of her. Her essay had been done for awhile now and the piece of paper in front of her was going to have a drawing on it; eventually. The problem was; Akira didn't have any ideas for a masterpiece. She normally painted landscapes and flowers. They were fun to draw because, well, they were complicated but they didn't move all the time like people or animals. She looked around the room and sighed. There wasn't a single plant within sight and she didn't feel like drawing the desk. Soon the pen was stuck back in the ink bottle and the paper was returned to the back shelf. Akira rested her head on the desk and slowly let her eyelids close. After awhile she was sound asleep.

"Psst! Zuko!" Daichi hissed.

"What?" Zuko growled, glaring at Daichi for distracting him. He was only about 40 words away from being done with his paper and really just wanted to finish it.

"Do you like dragon fruit?" Daichi asked.

"Why…? Never mind. Sure Daichi. I like Dragon fruit." Zuko responded. He turned back to his paper and started writing again.

"Oh, okay. I was just wondering." There was a small pause that lasted no more than a minute before Daichi's voice echoed around the room yet again. "Zuko, would you ever beat anyone up for no reason?" Daichi prodded as he poked Zuko in the shoulder.

"No. However if you bug me again; then… yes I will beat you up." Zuko said without taking his eyes off his paper. Daichi shrank back quickly into his seat, out of Zuko's reach.

"Alright then. Not gonna bug Zuko." Daichi said to himself. "Hey! Akira, will you talk to me I'm bored."

"Mmm… Wha…?" Akira mumbled as she slowly opened her eyes.

"Will you talk to me?" Daichi repeated.

"Sure… what do you want to talk about?" Akira sighed.

"Hmm… What were your friends like back at your old school?"

"Well, there were only about twelve kids in my village and their ages ranged from 6 to 16. So I was kind of in the middle. There was a guy named Isamu who was my age but he was super obnoxious. My best friend was Hotaru. She was fourteen and had a crush on my brother. It was the funniest thing ever!" Akira laughed. Daichi opened his mouth to reply when Professor Chan walked into the room.

"Alright students, you may bring your essays up here. If I find them acceptable then you may leave." The five students each brought their papers up and Professor Chan quickly scanned each of them. Akira waited for Professor Chan to dismiss her and he looked up.

"Akira, I hope I won't have to see you in here again. You are a good student and have a good heart, but let's try to stay out of trouble from now on."

"Yes sir." She responded.

"Very good, you may leave."

"Thank you sir." Akira said as she walked out of the classroom. She sprinted down the hallway to catch up with Zuko.

"Agh! I can't believe I got detention on the first day of school! My mom is gonna kill me!"

"Yeah well, you're not the only one wishing that you had a little better judgment when it comes to picking fights." Zuko replied unsympathetically.

"Hey at least I tried to help! Everybody else was too chicken to do anything!" Akira shot back.

"Yeah, and then you didn't watch your back and I had to come save you. Now thanks to you I got detention and I'm back on Arashi's bad side." Zuko growled.

"Oh it's my fault now! Well you didn't have to save me. I could have taken a punch or two." Akira retaliated, stopping and facing him with hands on her hips.

"Ha! You would be stuck in the doctor's house with your entire head wrapped in bandages if it weren't for me!" Zuko whipped around. He towered over her with a challenging glint in his eyes.

"That's not true! And even if it was, you're a jerk to say that!" Akira shouted at him. Refusing to back down, she tilted her head up and matched Zuko's glare with eyes that seemed like they had taken the challenge, won, and now were mocking him. He looked away for a second and closed his eyes. He inhaled and felt the rage surge through his veins. He loved this rush; the rush of pure power. It fueled his firebending and nothing made him feel more alive. He jerked his gaze back and met Akira's, as small flames erupted from his clenched fists.

"I'm a jerk am I? Well, I guess when Arashi comes back to smash your nose into your skull I'll just sit on the sidelines and laugh." Zuko retaliated and his threat hung in the air and seemed to surround the pair in a fog. A slight shudder went through Akira as she remembered how close she had been to getting seriously injured and the possibility of Arashi coming back to finish what he had started. Zuko saw this and took advantage of it quickly. "You see, Arashi may be stupid but I bet he's planning revenge." He said with a low threatening voice that seemed to belong to a much older man, rather than a twelve year old boy. Akira quickly dropped her gaze and stared at Zuko's shirt. He cupped her chin gently in his finger tips and ran his thumb along her jaw line. He drew her close to him until she looked up. Akira met his fiery gaze once again; this time, her eyes clouded with fear. Without thinking twice he leaned in close to her and whispered in the same deadly tone; "You know; his fist could do a lot of damage to your pretty little face."

Akira stepped back, her eyes wide with shock and hatred. Zuko suddenly realized that he had gone too far and started to apologize when she cut him off.

"I can't believe you would do that! You're such a self-conceited jerk! I thought you were different but apparently I was wrong. I'm going home and don't try and follow me or you'll be sorry." Akira shouted. Tears streamed down the sides of her face but she pushed them away quickly as she shoved Zuko to the side. Zuko watched her walk away, grumbling curses and kicking a rock violently as she went. With a sudden yell of frustration Zuko threw a fire ball at the wall of the shop next to him. A black mark scared the once unblemished wooden panels. He stared at the spot where Akira had disappeared and let out a sigh. He started in the same direction as she did, thinking of ways to make things better between them.

Zuko slammed his door and threw his books in the general direction of his desk. A loud crash resounded through his bedroom and made him cringe. He walked over to inspect the damage his books had done to the vase that normally sat next to the table. Zuko let out a groan when he found the elegant vase smashed to bits. Accepting defeat, he let himself fall against the wall and slide to the floor. He rested his elbows on his knees and began to massage his temples. Closing his eyes tight he groaned at the horrible day he had so far. Suddenly his door opened and startled Zuko out of his thoughts. He looked up a little too quickly; causing him to bang his head on the wall behind him. Zuko quietly muttered a curse and rubbed the new bruise. He felt a hand on his shoulder and he looked up startled, into Mai's concerned eyes.

"Oh spirits Zuko. Are you okay? I didn't mean to scare you but I heard a crash and… well… uh. never mind." She explained but trailed off when Zuko glared at her. "I'm sorry I bothered you. It won't happen again." Mai finished quickly as she stood up and turned words the door. Zuko watched her leave for a second, embarrassed that she had saw him bump his head. Suddenly he jumped to his feet and caught Mai by the hand as she walked out the door. She turned in surprise and let out a little squeak when Zuko pulled her close to his chest, wrapping her in a hug.

"I'm sorry. I just had a really bad day." He whispered in his friend's ear. As Zuko released his grip and stepped back, Mai still had a stunned expression on her face. Suddenly it broke into a smile and she led him back into the room.

"You want to talk about it?" She asked as she sat on the edge of his bed. She and Zuko had known each other for years and used to hang out all the time. As they grew older though, Mai's parents 'encouraged' her to hang out with Azula and Ty Lee more because they felt that she needed "to learn how to be more ladylike". Mai stifled a giggle. Yeah, like Azula and Ty Lee are ladylike.

"What are you laughing at?" Zuko asked as he sat next to her.

"Oh, nothing. Now… I believe you were going to tell me about your horrible day." Mai answered sweetly.

"Right. Well, it started when I was almost late for school. Then I had to sit through Professor Chan's stupid lesson. Then Azula… well… she…" He trailed off, not wanting to share his reaction to Azula's teasing as well as what she had been teasing him about.

"Yeah, I know all that stuff Zuko. But why did you get mixed up with that fight in the first place?" Mai questioned him, ignoring the lack of details he provided about his run-in with Azula. Zuko was surprised at first but then he remembered that Azula, Mai and Ty Lee knew anything and everything when it came to gossip around the school. He wasn't really surprised that she knew he was involved in the fight. If you want to know about the fight so badly why don't you go find out yourself? He thought darkly.

"Come on Zuko! I know you were in the fight but I want your side of the story! Please?" Mai pleaded with him, genuine concern flashing in her eyes.

"Alright fine! Arashi was picking on Remi and Akira decided that it was a good idea to go be the hero and save Remi." Zuko started.

"Wait. Isn't Akira that girl who is staying here while her father, General somethin' or another, recovers?" Mai interrupted.

"Yeah. And his name is General Keigo." Zuko growled angry at Mai for interrupting him.

"Whatever." Mai responded.

"Anyways, as I was saying, Akira jumped in way over her head and I pretty much had to pull her out." Zuko finished, giving the least amount of details possible, just to bug Mai.

"Zuko! Come on! I need more info than that! Work with me here!" Mai wailed, hitting him on the arm.

"Alright! Alright. Cool it. I was just joking. Okay… well Akira jumped into the fight and well, let's just say that girl has a mean uppercut." Zuko laughed, remembering the impressive punch Akira had delivered. Mai however didn't find it too amusing and glared at him until he continued the story. "So then instead of watching her back, she starts fussing over Remi and that's when Arashi recovered. Actually, Akira really has fighting potential, she just isn't trained to fight."

"Well that's super, but I don't care about Akira. I want to know what happened to YOU." Mai said crossly.

"Okay, okay. So Arashi jumps her and then ends up pinning her to the ground. So when he tried to punch her in the face I couldn't just stand there and watch. I used that flip move that Ty Lee taught us the other day and it actually worked perfectly. Arashi hit his head hard! It was the funniest thing ever! He curled up on the ground whimpering like a baby. Actually… I think if we had been on a harder surface it would have knocked him out for a couple hours at least! But anyways, Akira was really gonna let him have it, she just didn't know how to…" Zuko continued excitedly but was quickly cut off by Mai.

"Zuko. Stop talking about Akira… You could have gotten hurt or in trouble, but no… you decided go all knight in shining armor and save her from one punch. If she's as tough as you say she is, I'm pretty sure she could have taken a punch. Besides, you've only known her for what? A day?" Mai lectured.

"Look. She's my FRIEND and I wasn't going to let my FRIEND get her face smashed in by some creep!" Zuko shouted.

"Oh, so when did some no name girl from the colonies become best friends with Prince Zuko?" Mai shot back.

"So when did my previous best friend become so jealous of my other friends!?" Zuko shouted even louder this time, and his fists beginning to smoke.

"Previous? Does that mean I'm not your best friend anymore Zuko?" Mai asked, her voice breaking with rare hints of jealousy and anger. "Have I been replaced by your new 'friend', Akira."

"I never said that…" Zuko whispered in a low, threatening voice.

"I wouldn't worry too much Mai." A poisonous voice drifted from the doorway. "Word is; Zuko and his little 'friend' are in the middle of a small tiff currently."

"What do you want Azula?" Zuko growled.

"I came to get Mai. She's late for an important meeting, but I don't know if she deserves even attending now. Although… since she's the subject we happen to be discussing, it would probably be beneficial if she made an appearance." Azula's sickly sweet voice filled the room.

"She's all yours." Zuko muttered as her pushed past his sibling. "I'm going for a walk."

"Ooo. Touchy touchy. Be careful dear Zuzu! I wouldn't want you to get caught going places you shouldn't!" Azula's voice floated after him.

"Oh don't worry about me! I'm sure I'll be just fine!" He called over his shoulder, his voice coated in a dry sugar. "Spirits, what did I do to you? Did I offend you in some way because so far this day has been hell." Zuko muttered; half to the spirits, half to himself. He reached the end of the corridor and slipped out onto the balcony to his right. Pale moonlight washed over him as he leaned over the edge. The rooftops of the many buildings glowed, reflecting a silver tinge that flowed through the city. Zuko smiled and looked up at the stars. They twinkled brightly and comforted him. His mother used to take him stargazing and now the stars always filled him with warm memories. A gust of warm wind blew past him. Zuko took a deep breath and the hot, humid air filled his lungs. He watched a bank of storm clouds quickly claim the sky to the west of the island. Then, the wind that was swirling around him just a second ago stopped. Zuko watched the menacing clouds advance on him at a frightening pace. The air around him was still. Everything around him was still. The silence started to scare Zuko. The only thing he could hear or sense was his own breathing. Suddenly, he was almost thrown off his feet from the intensity of the gust of wind that hit him. The world went dark as the line of clouds passed over him and hid the moon. Zuko watched the swirling clouds pass bolts of electricity between them. Suddenly, a crack of lightning erupted from the belly of one of the clouds and lit the world once again. Quickly, the city was thrown back into darkness. As the thunder vibrated the entire palace to its core, the heavens let loose. Rain poured from the sky and Zuko was instantly soaked by the constant flow of huge droplets. Another cloud ruptured with an ear-splitting crack as a lightning bolt burst from the sky. Zuko's hairs stood on end and the thunder that followed was so powerful it sent a vibration through his heart that rippled the blood in his veins. He had heard of firebenders who were powerful enough to control lighting, but he couldn't imagine anyone powerful enough to control the monster in front of him. Suddenly a voice rose above the sheets of rain.

"What are you doing out there!" The voice was high pitched, a young girl's. She walked out in the rain toward the insane person who was standing outside in the middle of the thunderstorm, just asking to be struck by lightning. Okay… this guy is crazy. I'm already soaked from being out here for less than ten seconds. Gotcha! You're coming with me.

Zuko turned and felt the person grab his arm roughly and try to drag him back into the safe, dry hallway.

"Hey! Let go of me!" Zuko protested as he tried to twist away from the small hand that was clamped onto his arm. Her grip only tightened more and she kept dragging him towards the door.

"Shut up and come on! You gonna get yourself killed out here!" The girl shouted as she pulled against her prisoner's struggles. Zuko suddenly stopped resisting and let the girl pull him forward, which resulted in him getting thrown ahead of his captor into the fire lit hallway. The girl grunted in surprise and was dragged forward. She slammed into Zuko, pushing him against the far wall and they both fell to the ground. Zuko didn't move for a second, too stunned to do much of anything else. Slowly registering what had just happened, he found that the girl was pinned underneath him. He quickly stood up and then grabbed her hand to help the girl to her feet. Once he had pulled her up they looked each other in the face and both let out a quick gasp of surprise.

"Akira! What are you doing here?" Zuko asked in surprise.

"Saving you from getting killed by lightning." Akira spat, her eyes darkening. "Although if I knew it was you out there I wouldn't have bothered." She ripped her hands from his and turned away from him. Zuko quickly grabbed her arm and spun her back around to face him.

"Akira…" He began gently.

"Don't touch me! I'm still mad at you!" She snapped, once again twisting away from his grip. With one last glare she turned on her heel and walked down the hall without a glance back. Zuko leaned against a wall for the second time that night and hit the back of his head with a sharp crack. He squeezed his eyes shut, but ignored the throbbing that invaded his brain. At this rate I'm going to be the one needing an icepack… not Arashi. A chill crawled over his skin and reminded him of the soaked clothes that clung to him. He sighed and slowly made his way back to his room. After a hot shower and changing into his silk pajamas, Zuko crawled underneath his sheets and listened to the storm rage on. He took a deep breath and closed his fists. Slowly every candle in the room died to just a flicker. Thunder vibrated through the room and caused Zuko to lose his concentration. All the candles were immediately extinguished and the room was thrown into darkness.