"Ok, that's everything." Sokka announced to the group as he tied the last sack of supplies onto Appa. The gang had rummaged through the house early that morning taking everything that could be helpful to them.
"No it's not." Toph stated from her position by the fountain. The others looked at her questioningly until she continued with, "Where's Aang?" Everyone but Rei jumped in surprise and instantly the group ran into the house, searching for the missing Avatar. Rei went with Sokka straight into Aang's room where they found the offering table and his staff.
"He left his staff." Sokka explained as the others entered the room. "That's so strange."
"Aang's not in the house," Zuko said monotonously, "Lets check the beach."
Rei kept her face stoic and calm as they reached the sandy shore and saw tiny footprints leading to the ocean.
"So he went for a midnight swim and never came back?" Suki suggested weakly.
"Maybe he was captured?" Katara said fearfully.
"I don't think so. There's no sign of a struggle." Sokka replied.
"I bet he ran away again." Toph stated irritably.
"Uh-uh. He left his glider and Appa.
"Then what do you think happened to him, oh sleuthy one?"
"It's pretty obvious." Sokka exclaimed knowledgeably. Rei heard his certain tone and for once feared that she would be found out. She hid a bit behind Zuko, but no one took notice. "Aang mysteriously disappears before an important battle? He's definitely on a spirit world journey!" Rei's eyes widened in shock, which she quickly hid. How could he know?!
"But if he was, wouldn't his body still be here?" Zuko reminded Sokka, before turning to Rei who just nodded awkwardly. Sokka slumped in defeat.
"Oh yeah, I forgot about that."
"He must still be on Ember Island." Katara said. "Let's split up and look for him."
"I'm going with Zuko!" Toph announced as she zipped to his side, hugging his arm and causing him to blush. Rei giggled as everyone stared at the little blind girl. "What?" Toph added to the silence that had fallen over the group. "Everyone else went on a life-changing field trip with Zuko, now it's my turn." Katara looked at Rei, who forces herself to stop giggling.
"I will stay here." She told them. "In case Aang comes back." The others nodded and went off towards town, Zuko brushing past Rei and secretly squeezing her hand before he and Toph disappeared. Finally alone, the white haired girl let out a sigh as she gazed across the seemingly endless ocean.
"Oh Aang, I hope you find the answer you need."
A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A
Rei walked out to find the others dressed in their original clothing, looking dejected. Sokka jumped off of Appa and walked over to everyone. Zuko looked up at Rei and she noticed how desperate he looked. She sat down next to him and brushed her had over his with a small smile. He did nothing but look into her eyes for several moments. He was looking for something but Rei was ready with the answer. She just barely shook her head and turned to see Sokka in Appa's mouth, shouting some nonsense about killer animals.
"Get out of the Bison's mouth Sokka!" Zuko ordered. "We have a real problem here. Aang is no where to be found and the comet is only two days away."
"What should we do Zuko?" Katara asked as Sokka slid out of Appa's mouth, covered in Bison saliva. The prince stood up and everyone looked at him.
"I don't know." The others continued to stare at him until he angrily asked, "Why are you all staring at me?"
"Well, you kind of the expert at tracking Aang." Katara reminded him, causing him to slip into silence. He was thinking of his past, all the worst things he had done to try to find and capture Aang to regain his so-called honor. It suddenly seemed only days ago.
"I know that you do not like dwelling on your past Zuko," Rei spoke softly and soothingly. "But right now you are the only one who could find Aang." He glanced over at her and watched as a small smile fell to her lips. With a sigh Zuko looked to the others.
"Yeah, if anyone's the expert on hunting the Avatar, it would be you."
"Get onto Appa." He ordered.
Once airborne, Zuko steering Appa and the others in the saddle, Katara turned to Rei.
"Couldn't you just do a spirit world thing that would lead us straight to him? I mean, how did you find us at the temple?" Rei shook her head slowly.
"It was luck that I first found you, had you not been there I would have been searching for a very long time. It is impossible to track a single spirit in a world filled with so many, even the avatar's. The only way I could find him would be for him release the Avatar spirit, because that is so much more powerful than any other spirit on earth." Sokka groaned at a hope of an easy way of finding Aang and turned to face Zuko who sat on Appa's head stoically.
"Uh Zuko, I don't want to tell you how to do your job... But why are we heading towards the Earth Kingdom? There's no way Aang's there."
"Just trust me." Zuko replied, his voice dark. Sokka glanced at Suki who merely shrugged and turned away. The others fell silent as Appa glided smoothly through the sky. Rei looked out over the racing ocean, wondering if this was a prequel of what was to come.
They arrived at a sleazy bar about 50 miles from the earth kingdom sometime after dusk. Rei's eyes were wide with amazement at the loud music and raucous laughter as they entered the building.
"And the reason you brought us to a seedy Earth Kingdom tavern is what now?" Katara questioned in annoyance. Zuko sighed heavily and pointed towards the middle of the room.
"June." Was all he said. The others followed his finger and watched in amazement as a beautiful dark haired woman fought with some surly looking men. Rei glanced around the room and noticed many toothless and dirty men throwing her glances.
"Its our only hope of finding Aang." Zuko explained.
"I don't know who this June lady is, but I like her!" Toph explained as said woman finished with her opponents and drank more tea.
"Hey!" Sokka suddenly shouted, " I remember her, she helped you attack us!" Zuko threw him a back glance before walking forward.
"Yep, back in the good old days." Rei quickly followed the others as everyone approached the now-reclining woman.
"Oh great, it's prince pouty." June said before anyone else could speak. "Where's your creepy grandpa?" Zuko glared at her.
"He's my uncle and he's not here." June took another sip of her tea.
"I see you worked things out with your girlfriend." Zuko and Katara cast quick, awkward glances at each other.
"SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!"
"I'M NOT HIS GIRLFRIEND!" They shouted in unison. Rei looked questionably at the two, now that she understood what a girlfriend was, she wondered if their had been a past between her two friends. An ugly emotion welled in her chest and no matter how hard she tried, Rei could not will it away.
"Ok, ok sheesh! I was just teasing. What do you want?"
"I need your help finding the Avatar." Zuko explained to June who swiftly ignored him.
"Doesn't sound too fun."
"Does the end of the world sound like more fun?!" Zuko shouted at her.
"Listen kid, I heard you here banished and with grandpa gone, I doubt you'll be able to pay me. Besides, I remember last time you weren't so successful at getting the Avatar anyway." June stood up and left a small coin at the table. "Find someone else." She turned to walk away when Rei blocked her path.
"And who are you whitey? The Avatar's girlfriend?"
"I am his friend yes. But we desperately need your help. We'll give you anything." June eyed Rei up and down and noticed the sparkle wrapped around her throat, which was hidden beneath her plum clothing.
"I want your necklace." Rei's eyes widened as June slipped a finger beneath the chain and pulled out the dazzling pendant.
"No deal June. That was a gift from her parents, we're not giving that away."
"Then sorry kid. That's my price. Good luck saving the world and everything." June gave them all a smile and walked past Rei, towards the door. The white haired girl clutched at her pendant for a few moments.
"Wait." Rei shouted before turning to the tracker. "You get us to the Avatar, it's all yours." June smirked at the bold girl before turning around again.
"Hurry up kiddies." And June walked out the door.
"Rei, you don't have to do this." Katara explained in a weak voice, because everyone knew that she did.
"It's alright you guys. It's my duty anyway."
A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A
Katara gave June Aang's staff and she presented it to the strange monster. Rei watched in amazement as the animal began to circle around the clearing. It stopped and sniffed Rei and everyone tightened out of fear. Soon it moved on and ended up in a sad pile near Appa, paws over its nose.
"Well, what does that mean?" Zuko questioned as June bent to soothe her monster.
"Means your friend's gone."
"We know he is gone, that's why we're trying to find him." Rei explained.
"No I mean he's gone gone... He doesn't exist." The others stared in shock but Rei secretly sighed in relief.
"What do you mean Aang doesn't exist?! Do you mean he's...you know... dead?" Sokka asked.
"Nope." June answered. "We could find him if he was dead. Wow, that's a real head scratcher." She waved at the group. "See ya." She climbed onto her animal as Toph complained.
"Wait, I have another idea. There's only one other person in this world who could help us face the fire lord." Zuko turned to June. "I'll be right back with the smell sample." He then rushed to Appa and tore into his bag, pulling out an old and worn out sandal. HE then presented it to June's animal.
"You keep your uncles sweaty sandal?" Sokka questioned as the others plugged their noses from the smell that protruded from the small shoe.
"I think it's kind of sweet." Toph said, which caused Rei to smile. The animal took a quick whiff of the sandal and instantly tore off through the forest. The group scrambled onto Appa and quickly followed. No one spoke as they followed June across the rough terrain of the Earth kingdom. It took an entire day and they ended just In front of the broken first wall to the outer city. They stopped just outside of the wall.
"Were going to Ba Sing Se?" Zuko questioned.
"Your uncles just beyond this wall. Nyla's getting twitchy so he cant be far." June turned to them. "This is as close as I'm getting, I have other places to be." She looked pointedly at Rei, who slipped off her pendant and tossed it to the tracker.
"One day soon, you will be forced to choose a side June. I only hope I d o not have to rip this pendant off of a dead woman." Rei warned in a very mature and serious voice. June's face went blank from shock before she burst into a smirk.
"I like you girl. Good luck." She called before racing away and disappearing.
"It's been a long day." Zuko said. "Lets camp and start our search again at dawn." The others nodded and silently climbed off of Appa. Katara handed out some food from the summerhouse and they ate before separating off to sleep. Toph, always more comfortable in her earth, made herself a stone tent while Suki and Sokka claimed Appa's tail. Katara threw Zuko a quick glance before taking one of Appa's back legs and falling asleep very quickly. The prince was about to fall asleep when he noticed that Rei was missing. He got to his feet and found her standing in front of Appa's face, touching her small smooth forehead to his large shaggy one. He was about to question her when he noticed that she was whispering to the giant creature. Zuko didn't understand her words though; they seemed to be in another language. Appa's eyes slowly closed and his breathing deepened; only then did Rei notice Zuko standing next to her.
"What were you saying to him?"
"An ancient poem of courage." Zuko put his arm around Rei and looked at Appa's big furry face.
"Appa is afraid?"
"Yes, very much so."
"Why?" Rei turned to Zuko with a strange look.
"For the same reasons we all are. He cannot understand our words, but he comprehends our emotions amazingly well. He misses Aang badly, he fears what we are all worried about, he doesn't like being near the Earth Kingdom at all, and he is empty with out Momo."
"Why is that?" Zuko questioned, looking down at Rei.
"Because Appa loves Momo."
"Loves?" Rei watched Zuko with a curious expression before pulling reaching her hands to his head and pulling him into a kiss.
"Loves." She responded, releasing Zuko's head. He chuckled and glanced at Appa.
"Well, lets go to bed." He attempted to pull Rei towards Appa's side but could not move her. Glancing back, he noticed that she was staring at the ground, her eyebrows furrowed. "Rei? What wrong?"
"Something that June said earlier. About you and Katara." Zuko's jaw fell before he could catch himself.
"Are you serious?"
"I understand what a girlfriend is Zuko, and I am wondering if it was true and if so what that makes me?"
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Zuko burst out laughing, causing Appa to jump slightly, pushing off the others and waking Toph with a grunt.
"What are you two doing??!!" Sokka yelled, rubbing his head.
"Sorry, Rei just said something funny. Everyone go back to bed now." Zuko urged them. The spirit girl glared at the fire bender once as everyone settled down once again.
"What's wrong Rei?" She backed away from his touch and looked away.
"I said nothing that was remotely humorous Zuko." He grabbed Rei's shoulders and forced her to look at him, he was still smiling.
"But you did Rei! You said something utterly ridiculous."
"In what way?"
"In the way of thinking that I would ever, EVER date Katara. Goodness Rei, she completely hated me until weeks after you arrived. We have never been romantically linked in ANYWAY! I've only ever had one girlfriend and the only thing similar between Mai and Katara are their tempers." Zuko felt that he had explained himself well until he saw Rei's face change at he word girlfriend.
"Mai? Who is this woman?" Zuko instantly regretted his poor choice in words.
"No, no Rei, Mai is no one, it's not important!"
"Why would you date someone who is actually no one but who also has a name?"
"No! It's not.....that's not.....I mean......"
"Why have you kept these relationships a secret from me?"
"I don't.... Relationships?"
"I do not understand why you would hide things from me, I thought you trusted me Zuko!"
"Rei, it's not that...... You don't under..... Relationships don't...." Zuko could not manage to get the words he needed so he took a deep breath and counted to five. When he released his breath he opened his mouth to speak. "Mai is a girl I know from before my banishment who is friends with Azula. We dated for a brief amount of time because of Azula. I have never dated Katara nor would I ever want to nor has the thought ever crossed my mind." Rei was about to ask another question when Zuko gave her a pained look that forced her into silence.
"Rei, I have honestly told you everything about my past that I thought was important and my time with Mai wasn't important to me. I was forced into the relationship and was too weak to try to get out of it. I'm sorry that I didn't tell you. I didn't think you would want to know."
"Zuko, I want to know everything about you. The good, the bad, and even the things that you think are unimportant." Rei slowly walked to him and cupped his face in her hand. "Everything I have learned about myself has been because of you. Now I wish to learn about you. How can I not worry if there are still things I do not understand."
"Worry?" Zuko brought his head up and looked into Rei's lilac eyes. "You're worried about my feelings for you?" It was Rei's turn to look away as she dropped the contact she held. Zuko did not move, he only stood and stared at the woman in front of him.
"Since I am unaware, I do not know who may still hold your heart." She said quietly.
"Rei, there is no one. There never has been, and there never will be anyone... Anyone but you," He tilted her head up by putting his right index finger beneath her chin. Tears glistened in her eyes but she looked straight at him. "Is no one to me." He pulled her into a soft kiss and what he couldn't communicate with his words, he certainly communicated with his mouth. When he finally pulled away they were both panting, his forehead resting on hers, both pairs of eyes closed.
"I love you Rei." She opened her eyes but he did not. Several seconds passed before his amber eyes slid open. "Always."
"And I love you Zuko." She smiled sweetly. "Forever."
A very long time passed before they finally made their way to sleep on Appa's leg.
A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A
I know that you may never forgive me, I don't deserve it. But I still want to say I AM SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SOOOOOOOOOOOOO SORRY THAT THIS TOOK SOOOO LONG! I have had the worst case of college and writers block ever!!! And I can't promise that the next chapter will be up ASAP but I do have inspiration so ill be working on it.
If you would like, I would really appreciate some reviews, but if you hate me that's understandable. Just some help or feedback, what you liked what I need to improve and stuff.
ONCE AGAIN I AM SOOOO SORRY!!!
(And I changed my name too. Trying to turn over a bad writers leaf)
