Helloooo
This Chapter is realllyyy long so I hope you like it!
Without Further ado Hunt or Be Hunter Chapter 2: THE CYCLOPES
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender
Six Years, it had been six years since they left the luxury of the Fire Nation Palace, and began Hunters.
Not that Zuko complained, he enjoyed killing the monsters, it kept him busy and kept him from thinking of his mother.
He was now eighteen and an expert hunter, master firebender, and a swordsman. His father trained him and his sister, who was now sixteen, very well. They were also the youngest hunters around, according to them, they haven't met any other hunters recently. They try to avoid other hunters, they don't work well training was the most difficult part of it all, though Father was a great firebending teacher, he wasn't the best at teaching them to be hunters.
Normally he would leave on his own mission while he and Azula got their own and would have to go their separate ways, that's how they learned. Experience. Hands on tasks.
The only thing he would leave them is the Book that their Uncle Iroh had given them before they left the palace. It contained information about every monster and spirit ever discovered. It really helped them out from time to time. Usually it was Zuko who used the book, Azula preferred to learn on her own, which of course led her to get captured or nearly killed. Zuko was always there, though, he promised her he would never leave and intended to keep that promise.
Azula is no longer the fragile little girl she was six years ago, she grew to be 5'8, toned and smart, not to mention her bluntness. Being a huntress caused her to grow up fast, as it did with Zuko. All they had left was each other and their memories.
They had finally found a decent area to set up camp, they were currently in the Fire Nation, it was just the two of them in the Fire Hunters now, that's what everyone called them. The name seemed to fit, at least that's what their father thought.
"I'm going to get us some meat." Azula said standing up, throwing her bow over her shoulder.
Shortly after they left the Palace, their father paid a retired hunter to train Azula in archery, which she quickly mastered, no surprise there. A few months later their father gave her Ursa's bow. It was his sister's most prized possession; no one, not even Zuko, was allowed to touch it.
Zuko stood up at well "I'll check the perimeter, just in case." he said grabbing his dao swords.
He was also taught in the art of Dao Swords, he wanted to be just like his father which meant he learned how to use the weapon he was famous for using. To Ozai's surprise Zuko was pretty good, and passed on his swords to his son as well.
The former Prince couldn't say that they had the greatest relationship with his father, well Azula got along with him, but it seemed like he and Zuko butted heads all the time. It annoyed Azula to no end until she would have enough and threaten to roast both males, then they would go to sleep opposite of each other and no speak for a few days.
That is until Ozai announced he was retiring, he had grown to old to continue to be traveling as much as they could, so they left him in the Fire Nation where their father traveled back to the Fire Nation Capital alone where he lived with his older brother in the palace.
Zuko could admit he was a bit jealous that their father was now living the high life, but would rather be hunting than stuck indoors for so long.
Once the perimeter was checked for all signs of monsters or spirits, Zuko started a camp fire and layed out his and Azula's sleeping bags next to each other. They had grown to sleeping side by side, Azula used to have nightmares of the spirit that killed their mother and Zuko was always there to comfort her.
The bushes began to rustle and Zuko stood with his swords out prepared to attack. Azula walked into view holding a quail-dove with an arrow sticking in its chest and going out its back. "Relax hothead, its just me." she said rolling her eyes.
Zuko did as his sister told and put his swords away "Nice shot." he complimented.
She shrugged, throwing her stuff on the ground and began to prepare their dinner.
This was how their off days usually went, He would check the perimeter, gather wood for a fire, and cooked dinner while she hunted for meat (She preferred to be alone, it was her thinking time), collected other necessities and gathered water. It was their routine, there were a few things they did together, like do laundry and prepare for the next day.
"What's our next mission?" Azula asked as she began to skin the bird.
Zuko began to prepare the vegetables and rice before throwing them into the a pot of boiling water "I heard a merchant talking in the last town we were in about a Cyclopes near the town of Kasai."
"A Cyclopes?" she paused her work before looking up at her brother.
He nodded his head "Father and I hunted one a while back, while you were hunting that siren, anyways they aren't that hard to kill just the fact they prefer to eat young women." he said.
"Sounds like an easy job." she said.
"With our luck I hightly doubt that Zula." he said rolling his eyes.
His sister pursed her lips and chopped away at the bird.
The next day once they were packed they were headed to the town of Kasai, it was near the Capital so they had to be careful, though he hightly doubted they would recgonize him and his sister. Azula's hair was longer now, past her waist while Zuko's stayed above his shoulders, their father made sure that they were unrecognizable whenever they entered a new town.
"Who do we question first?" he asked turning to his sister as they traveled on the dirt road, he was flipping through the Book, trying to find the way they could kill the Cyclopes.
"The families of the victims." she stated looking all around her. Azula had became very aware of her surroundings since she began a huntress, always on high alert and ready for anything.
Zuko closed the Book and putting it in his bag "Alright, we'll get there before noon, hopefully these people will be some help"
After a few mintues they reached the city, something felt off though. Azula glanced around and noticed all the windows were boarded up and the shops were closed. She turned to her bother who furrowed his brothers and stared around the town.
Feeling as though someone was watching her Azula turned around but saw nothing behind her. She turned back around and glanced around hoping to find something suspicious. A high pitch sound echoed in her ears before an explosion erupted infront of them. Turning around Azula saw one of the biggest monsters she has ever seen.
"Zuko?!" she asked.
He smirked "Say hello to the cyclopes."
She glared at her brother "They shoot fire from their mind!?" she yelled.
The hunter's smirk fell "No...what is this?" he asked before the creature made an angry roar and aimed it's head towards the siblings.
"Run Zula!" he said before bolting in the other direction, the explosion blasting next to him.
If her life wasn't in peril the Princess would have rolled her eyes at her brother, it was one man for himself out here and Zula still hasn't gotten used to it. Quickly running for her life, she ran behind one of the buildings while the monster continued to roar in anger and frustration.
"Zula." a voice called.
She turned to see her brother inside a house with door wide open, he was gesturing for her to come to him "Come on, it's safe." he said.
Azula looked at her brother skeptically, he sighed "I promise, now come on!" he ordered.
Glancing around her to make sure the monster was out of sight, the huntress ran into her brother's arms where he helped her into the house.
She looked around and saw a small family huddled in the corner of the house.
"Thank you again for letting us into your home." her brother said gratefully to the man of the house.
"You are the Fire Hunters?" he asked.
Zuko nodded his head and glanced back at his sister who was leaning against the wall staring at the floor.
"Funny, I thought you guys would be older." he said.
Her brother chuckled "Yeah, we get that a lot."
The man chuckled and put his hand on Zuko's shoulder "Well on behalf of the town and Me, the Mayor, we thank you for coming here."
Zuko nodded his head "It's no problem, kinda our job."
Azula pushed herself off the wall and crossed her arms "So what can you tell us about this cyclpose" she stated.
The man looked over at his weeping wife then back at the siblings "It started about a week ago, a girl went missing, at first we thought she had just went out for the day or something, girls around here head to the river to spend the way and what not. But then, more girls began to disappear, that's when the town became worried so we ordered all citizens to be indoors before the sun goes down." he gave a humorless chuckle "Some of the young girls around here didn't take it so well so they began to sneak out at night, one of those girls included my daughter. We haven't seen them since." he said looking at his hands.
Azula and Zuko both glanced at each other "Does the cyclopes have a cave or a hiding place where it goes during the day?" Zuko asked.
The man nodded his head "It has a cave, at the edge of the forest about ten minutes from here."
The siblings turned to each other "We'll leave before sunset and head to the cave and when the creature comes out we'll kill it."
Azula rolled her eyes "You forgot about the fact it shoots fire with it's mind."
"His forehead is the most sensitive spot then" Zuko said "that's an advantage to us."
The man nodded his head "I must warn you about the cliffs, they are pretty high up, keep far from them."
The hunters nodded their heads. "You are welcome to stay the night here if you wish." the man said.
"Thank you." Azula said.
"It's the least we can do." he said.
His wife stood on her feet and walked over to the two siblings "Please find our daughter, shes only thirteen. Please" she begged.
Azula's hard expression softened "We'll try our best."
The following morning Zuko and Azula prepared for the journey. The Mayor's wife approached them with two bags "A lunch for your trip, you're going to need a lot of energy."
Zuko thanked the woman and slung his pack on his backs and started towards the door "Come on Azula."
The two hunters made their way out of the city and into the forest. "So how is your plan going to work exactly?" Azula asked after a few minutes of silence.
"Live bait." he stated.
The huntress furrowed her eyebrows before glaring at her brother "You know, the whole live bait thing you've got going on isn't going to get us far in life."
"Hey, the monster hunts young girls, and you're a young girl, well hopefully you are." he said chuckling as he dodged the small fireball being thrown at his head.
"Of course I'm a girl!" she yelled.
"Anyways you'll pretend to be wandering around the forest, let the monster see you and chase you around, then I'll jump from behind the bushes and stab it." he said.
Azula rolled her eyes "That plan sound's full proof, but since you've hunted this thing before we'll go with your plan, next hunt we go with my plans."
It was beginning to get dark and Zuko shoved his sister out in the open, earning a growl from her mouth in the process. She walked around with her arms crossed and glanced back at her brother who was snickering in the bushes "You know this really isn't professional." she yelled out.
Her brother smirked "Shut up and pretend to be lost, and ACT GIRLY ABOUT IT!" he said.
Zuko recieved a very inappropriate finger from his little sister as she began to walk in cirlces in the small forest opening. "Help, I'm lost in the woods because my dummy of a brother doesn't know how to make a decent plan!" she yelled.
Zuko rolled his eyes "Seriously Zula!"
"Hey, I'm the one who has to stand out here so..."
"Zula watch out!" Zuko cried out.
With a gasp the huntress jumped just in time before a ray of fire was shot at her. 'oof' she said as she landed on her side.
"Well that could have gone better." she said standing up, wiping the dirt from her tunic.
The ground began to quake as the cyclopes began to approach her. She readied her bow and aimed it towards the beast, her eyes widened as another ray of light shot towards her.
"You've got to be kidding me." she growled out as she hid behind a tree.
"Zula?" Zuko whispered.
She turned to see her brother in the bushes in across from her "Yeah?" she asked breathing frantically.
"Can you aim for his forehead?" he asked.
Azula rolled her eyes "As you could see, I haven't been able to stay in one place for long, let alone have enough time to aim."
"Fine, I'll distract it, you aim for it's head." he stated before grabbing his swords from his back.
She took a deep breath before readying her weapon once more and quietly moved from behind the tree. She could see Zuko running around the best who was desperately trying to catch the hunter.
Closing one eye she waiting until the monster was completely still and released the arrow. The only sound she heard was the sickly sound of the arrow cutting through flesh and a roar of pain from the cyclopes.
She looked over and saw her brother slice at the Cyclopes a couple of times before it was on the ground and with one sweep, he cut off its head.
The Princess ran over to her brother who was now covered in the monsters blood. She wrinkled her nose "Make sure you shower after this."
Her brother rolled his eyes "I'll put that at the top of my list."
She glanced over at the now empty cave "Let's go see if we find the girls of that town."
Zuko nodded his heade and wiped his hands on his shirt before grabbing his sword again. They headed into the cave, lighting a small flames in their hands, and walking further and further into darkness. A small whimper caught their attention.
Azula ran foward "Come on slow poke!" she said.
The Prince sighed and follwed his sister towards the whimpering. "I found them" she said.
Zuko walked closer to his sister "How many?" he asked as he approached them.
"Three" she stated quietly
"We'll lets help them out of here and get them back home."
Grabbing each girl's hand the hunters led them out of the cave and back into the forest where they walked towards the town.
"Seina!" the Mayors wife cried out as she ran towards her daughter, tears in her eyes.
Azula watched the girl with envy as a mother hugged her daughter. She knew she would never get to feel the warmth of a mother's embrace, or the wisdom she would never gain.
Zuko noticed his sister's expression and put a hand on her shoulder "Come on Zula, we should get going."
Before they could leave the Mayor came up to them "Wait!"
The siblings turned to the man "Here, something for your travels." he said putting a bag of golden coins in Zuko's hand.
"We don't ask for pay." Zuko said "Not that we aren't grateful" he added quickly.
"Please, I insist, it's the least we can do. You saved our daughter." the Mayor said putting a hand on Zuko's shoulder.
"Thank you Sir." Azula said.
The two royals quickly made their way out of town and back into the forest.
Instead of beginning their normal routines, they set out their sleeping bag and plopped on their backs with a tired sigh.
Zuko held his fist out "Nice job out there sis." he said.
She pounded her fist against him "Not so bad yourself."
They grew quiet "Listen Zula, I'm sorry." Zuko started.
"For what?" she asked.
"I saw the way you were staring at the girl and the Mayor's wife, and I knew we barely remember mom, and"
"Zuko, it's okay. I've grown used to it. I know I'll never have a mother, I have my big brother, that's all I need. Just drop it." she said then rolled on her side facing away from the Prince.
Zuko sighed and rolled the opposite way "Goodnight Azula."
She shut her eyes and listened to small rhythm of her brother's breath. He promised to stay, he's the only person she needs.
Hope you liked it!
This chapter was better than I had expected it.
Next Chapter: Zuko and Azula travel to Kyoshi Island where they heard reports of bodies showing up on the shore of the Island in halves. They suspect it's the great creature of the sea, The Unagi. They also meet another hunter, Sokka, who is a resident in Kyoshi and is also looking to hunt the creature.