Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender or its characters.

Chapter Five:

Across Time

"We would like to live as we once lived, but history will not permit it."

– John F. Kennedy

"Is he okay?" Kaori had asked Iroh as they had stood outside the prince's doors. Her eyes had traveled away from the older man and towards the door, "I wish there was more I could've done. I mean—"

Iroh had interrupted her, a smile on his face. "You protected him well enough and I am sure he is grateful for it." His hand had gone to her small shoulder, her eyes now gazing up at him. "I heard a great deal. Everyone is talking about your bravery and skills. Also, you seemed to be in full control."

The brunette had remembered the fight, "That's true. I didn't have a flash back or anything… I was myself." A small smile appeared on her face.

The doors of the bedroom opened, a doctor poked his head through the large crack he had made. "You two may come in." Kaori was surprised that he said she was allowed in to, but Iroh had urged her on with a pat on her back. Kaori had followed, going in first, to see Zuko sitting up and his gaze fixed on the window beside his bed.

He slowly turned to look at them as Iroh and Kaori approached the right side of the bed. Kaori parted her lips to speak but then stopped herself upon realizing she didn't know what to say. "Thank you." His voice had caught her off guard as well as his words. "You saved me."

"I…Well…" The girl averted her gaze, blushing from embarrassment. "I mean… It's just…" She slowly looked up at him, "You've saved me and so I owed you." She smiled, "And you're Prince Zuko, so I had no choice right?"

"You always have a choice." Zuko had said as Iroh watched the two in silence, the corner of his rising in their usual smile. "You didn't have to save me."

"Yes I did." Kaori had argued back, "As a servant, I still have to give my life to you. I am here to serve the royal family." She nodded but he had just looked at her with slight surprise.

Iroh had then spoke, interrupting the conversation. "Do you know what was wrong?" He had asked.

The Prince had shaken his head, "No. I've just been having odd chest pain." He placed his hand on the center of his chest, "I really don't know why."

"Maybe it is stress. You need a vacation. The war must be putting a strain on your body." His Uncle had said.

Even though Zuko never liked the idea of slacking off—or the word vacation nonetheless—he had to agree that his body needed a break. "You're right." Iroh was surprised that his nephew had agreed with him, and so quickly too.

"May I suggest some time on Ember Island?" He had asked him. "And I'll try to get Kaori to come alone, to help you." He had said as Kaori had looked at Iroh in surprise. "I'm sure Fire Lord Ozai would want Kaori around after her display of bravery and selflessness."

"Oh no," the girl shook her head quickly, "I can't do that… I mean I have a job to do here—"

Iroh had shaken his head. "If Zuko were to fall under another attack, I would like for you to be there and aid him." He had said, "I trust Zuko would want that too, right?"

Iroh and Kaori had looked over to Zuko, who seemed reluctant. "I can handle myself." Zuko had then averted his gaze, "But she can come."

She wanted to smile, she forced herself not to, but she couldn't help but feeling a flimsy feeling of joy. "Now I'll go and discuss this with your father." Iroh had turned around and walked towards the door and opened it, "By the time you'll come back, you'll be feeling much better." And with that, he walked out of the room to leave Kaori and Zuko.

"I know you aren't too excited about it." Zuko had looked over at Kaori as she spoke, "But you wouldn't want your people worrying about their prince, right?"

That was true. He didn't need the people of the Fire Nation worrying about him and so if he went on vacation, then he'll be back fresh and new and leaving them nothing to worry over. However, he wasn't sure what to actually do on a vacation in the first place. "Right." He said as she had sat at the edge of his bed, her hands on her lap.

An awkward silence had filled the air as Zuko occasionally glanced at her hands, her thumbs fiddling together. Was she nervous? His eyes soon went from her hands and to her face as her grey eyes had stared at the red carpet. "Uhm…" He heard her hum, his amber pupils fixed on her. She then laughed nervously, "Nothing." Kaori had then stood and walked towards the door, "Take care." She waved and left, leaving the prince confused.

"Why didn't you tell your uncle that the fox bead has been acting up?" Priyala had questioned.

'I couldn't tell him that with here in here… But it looks like it'll have to wait anyway.' Zuko replied as he had lain back down on his bed. 'Was she acting weird to you?'

"A little more so than usual yes, but given the reason I suppose she should be." Priyala had said, "She's going to be spending time with you on this vacation. Is it just going to be the two of you?"

Now that Zuko thought about it, her reaction did make sense. 'I didn't ask…' He had sighed.

"Well, if you feel uncomfortable about it. You could ask Mai to come along, who by the way I still find strange." Priyala had said, "She's a quiet one. How you have any fun with her at all still surprises me."

'It's her thing.' Zuko shrugged his shoulders, 'It's what makes her different and special.'

The dragon groaned. "Right…"

'You just don't like her because of my sister.'

"That is also true."

Ozai had approved the vacation is brother insisted that the prince needed and had even sent Azula along, deciding that she needed one as well. Azula had invited Mai and Ty Lee, with Masuyo allowing her brother to attend. All six teenagers had to spend two weeks on Ember Island, giving them some time to soak in the sun. "Why must I have been sent along? I'm not the one who is worse for wear." Azula had said, irritated about the whole thing. "I haven't even got my real kicks in. I've been training nonstop."

Ty Lee, the bubbly brunette that Azula had befriended since she was a child, had then spoke up. "Well, that's probably why. Training nonstop isn't good for your body Azula, you need a break too. Besides, you're a princess! You needed some time for R&R."

The princess had looked at her friend, her arms folded and doing a slight shrug. "I suppose you have a point. The whole point of this vacation is for father to do what he wants without us under his nose anyway. It's that obvious."

Kaori had stood next to Masumi, who had watched as she had leaned against the rail. Her eyes looked over to the large, blue and vast ocean with much awe. "The ocean is so beautiful." Kaori had managed to say, her lips in a giant grin soon after.

"Never took you for a sea girl." Masumi had commented, the servant looking at him and then back at the ocean blue. "Though, you're full of many surprises."

She had looked at him, and then at Zuko had approached her. She had stood straight, facing him. "This'll be your first time leaving the Fire Nation. Ember Island isn't that far though." The Prince had informed her, Kaori fiddling with the ends of her hair as she had looked at him.

"I can say that I'm a little too excited for my own good." A nervous laugh escaped her. Zuko rose a brow as she had then looked down at his chest, "Are you feeling okay?" She had asked before her eyes went back up to meet his.

The Prince nodded, "I'm fine." His gaze then went to Masumi. "I don't think we've met."

"I'm Priestess Masuyo's brother, Masumi." He bowed the typical Fire Nation bow, his hands making the insignia of the Fire Nation flame. "It is an honor to meet you Prince Zuko."

Kaori had looked at Masumi and then at Zuko, "Well, I'm going to my room." She had said but Zuko had stopped her by grabbing her shoulder. "I wanted to ask you if it was okay if we practiced."

"Practiced?" She questioned, "You mean sword fighting?"

"Well, yeah. You can't bend." He had said as she had looked at him and then back at her hands.

"I don't know if I can bend." Kaori had said as both Masumi and Zuko had looked at her with question. "So it's a possibly I can but I just don't know.

Masumi then spoke, "We can always find out."

Both Zuko and Kaori had looked at the boy questioningly. "How?" Both of them said in a unison, and then look at each other in surprise before looking back at Masumi.

"It's real simple. We get a buck of each element and watch her try to bed them." Zuko's face becamed deadpanned while Kaori remained confused.

The brunette then spoke, "Well.. How would we get earth?"

"A plant. There has to be come on the ship. It has soil in it so… that should be simple enough." Masumi folded his arms, nodding as if he had got it all figure out.

Zuko looked completely unamused. "Well, do you want to try it?" He asked Kaori as she had looked up at him and then down to the metal deck floor. "You don't have to if you don't want to."

She shook her head. "I feel like bending should come to you naturally then by force." She smiled, "So… I'm going to stick to the most natural thing I know which is the sword." She explained as Zuko nodded. "Let's go." He had said as she had followed behind him.

Masumi had watched from the sidelines as well as Azula, Ty Lee, and Mai and other guards on the ship. Kaori and Zuko had given each other a few feet of space. A guard had approached the prince and gave him his broad swords, and one had given Kaori a katana. She had placed the sword's belt around her waist and adjusted it. "You ready?" He had asked her as she had nodded.

Kaori was the first to advance, running with her hand over the handle of the sword, she had moved right, missing Zuko's blade. "She's pretty quick on her feet." Ty Lee complimented. Kaori unsheathed the sword and swung it down towards Zuko, who quickly deflected the attack and jumped backwards and landed perfectly on his feet. "There's not many girls I know that are good with a sword."

Azula had looked at the bubbly girl from the corner of her eyes and then looked back at the fight, her arms folded. "I agree she's pretty agile but I don't believe she's using her full potential." Kaori had then ran and slid down, aiming to swipe at his feet but Zuko quickly jumps and lands behind her. The brunette was already facing him as Zuko jumped in the air and swung both broad swords to Kaori's feet, but the girl quickly does a one hand cartwheel away and lands on her feet. "It seems like she's holding back."

"This is just a practice fight." Mai then spoke, "Why would she be fighting to kill?" The prince swung both swords again, but met Kaori's as they clashed together and the sound of metal rung through the air. Both of them had pushed into each other, trying to use their strength to overwhelm the other.

"That's what I do." Azula had shrugged her shoulders, her voice a matter-of-fact tone. Mai had looked at the princess, not an ounce of surprise visible. "But I suppose your right. She can't risk hurting my brother." Both Zuko and Kaori jumped back away from each other, both of them panting as sweat had rolled down their foreheads.

"You're pretty strong." Zuko had said as Kaori grinned from the compliment. He then ran forward, dewing a few spins before striking at her with both swords. Kaori manages to block the strike and both of them lock swords again.

It was Kaori's turn to compliment him. "It must've been hard to excel at both swordfighting and Firebending. When did you have a time for a break?" She had asked him, their faces nearly inches apart from one another. Though their eyes were locked on each others, their swords remained in clashing as they continued to push at one another.

They both struggled to gain control over the other, "It wasn't easy but it wasn't hard either." She should've known something arrogant would come out of him but she couldn't blame him. He was gifted. They back away from each other, their swords continuing to clang against each other and grunting from the forces of their blows.

Zuko swings again, but Kaori had caught the sword with her own and knocked it out of his hand. The broad sword had hit the ship's deck, and slid away from him. Kaori had gave him a grin in which Zuko looked surprised but continued to stay armed with his one sword. He spins with it and tries to attack again, but Kaori had met her sword with his to deflect the attack.

He then swings at her feet, but she jumps on his blade and points the end of her at his face as she balances on the sword. Amazed, Zuko had looked down at the blade end that is at his face. She looks at him with an air of arrogance, but he had moved the sword up and she jumps, landing with her back turn to have his sword facing her back.

"Looks like I win." He had said as she had looked at him over her shoulder. He then lowers the sword and offers his right hand, the brunette taking it and helping herself up. "That was a good fight."

"It was." She smiled as Masumi had approached the two. Both of them looked at him as he gave them a large grin.

"That was so intense! I wasn't sure who was going to win!" Kaori had placed the sword in its sheath as Mai had walked over to Zuko, handing him the katana.

Kaori had looked at Zuko had smiled and took the sword from Mai's hands. "Thanks." He said as the brunette had then looked back at Masumi.

"I'm glad you were entertained, Masumi." Azula and Ty Lee had walked over to them.

The Princess then spoke, "You're a bit strong for a servant. We would need you on the battlefield then cleaning up the palace."

"Me? On the battlefield…" She had murmured the last bit, wondering if she would make a good soldier. 'YOU TRAITOR!' the voice had rung loudly in her head and caused her to frown. "I don't think so." She shook her head.

Zuko had noticed her frown and watched as she had turned around walked away. "Did she just walk away from me?" Azula questioned, surprised.

Ty Lee had tried to distract Azula, "Look! It's almost dinner time." She had then tugged the princess's arm. "Let's go!"

Masumi had also watched Kaori who had just opened the door that lead to the inside of the ship. His gaze then shifted to Zuko, who was also looking at her retreating from. Mai had caught Zuko's gaze and the corner of her lips slightly dipped.

/ / /

"Well…" sighed Kaori as she had fiddled with the ends of her hair as she lay down on the bed of her cabin. "I've couldn't have been more disrespectful." It was true, and she was sure Azula was more than put off by her just leaving during the conversation like that. Her eyes occasionally glanced to the nightstand beside her bed, The Little Mermaid hanging at the edge of the wooden table. She had let go of her hair and grabbed the scroll, and found the part that she had left off.

Her grey eyes had found the sentence that she had remembered starting and went onto the next. "Nothing gave the youngest princess such pleasure as to hear about the world of human beings up above them. Her old grandmother had to tell her all she knew about ships and cities, and of people and animals. What seemed nicest of all to her was that up on land the flowers were fragrant, for those at the bottom of the sea had no scent. And she thought it was nice that the woods were green, and that the fish you saw among their branches could sing so loud and sweet that it was delightful to hear them. Her grandmother had to call the little birds "fish," or the princess would not have known what she was talking about, for she had never seen a bird."

Kaori had continued on, "When you get to be fifteen," her grandmother said, "you will be allowed to rise up out of the ocean and sit on the rocks in the moonlight, to watch the great ships sailing by. You will see woods and towns, too." Next year one of her sisters would be fifteen, but the others - well, since each was a whole year older than the next the youngest still had five long years to wait until she could rise up from the water and see what our world was like. But each sister promised to tell the others about all that she saw, and what she found most marvelous on her first day. Their grandmother had not told them half enough, and there were so many thing that they longed to know about."

The most eager of them all was the youngest, the very one who was so quiet and wistful. Many a night she stood by her open window and looked up through the dark blue water where the fish waved their fins and tails. She could just see the moon and stars. To be sure, their light was quite dim, but looked at through the water they seemed much bigger than they appear to us. Whenever a cloud-like shadow swept across them, she knew that it was either a whale swimming overhead, or a ship with many human beings aboard it. Little did they dream that a pretty young mermaid was down below, stretching her white arms up toward the keel of their ship."

A knock had interrupted her and she had rolled the scroll and placed it back to the nightstand. She had stood and walked over towards the metal door and opened it, to see Zuko with a tray of food. She had opened the door wide enough for him to enter and placed the tray atop of her bed. "I missed dinner…"

He had turned to look at her as she had looked at him with surprise and guilt. She felt bad that he had come all the way here to hand her dinner when she should've remembered. Overall, she was surprised that she wasn't hungry. "Come on." He said, "Eat."

He had sat down and picked up a bowl of rice, placing pieces of meat atop of it with his chopsticks. Kaori had slowly but surely walked over to him and sat on the other side of the tray. She had picked up her bowl of rice and began to add pieces of hippocow meet atop of the white, hot rice. "You missed dinner too?"

"I was busy." He quickly answered as he placed some of the food in his mouth, slowly chewing with his eyes closed. The female questioned what he was busy with, and how the princess must have felt with both of them missing dinner. Happily, she had placed a combination of the meat and rice in her mouth and squealed happily once the food had washed over her tastebuds.

Zuko, surprised at the sound, had looked at her as she had rocked side to side quickly. She began to eat quickly, the ends of the chopsticks lingering a bit too long in her mouth just to suck the meat flavor out of the wooden utensils. "Well…" Priyala had said, surprised just as much as Zuko was. "She really likes hippo cow."

"Hippo Cow is so good!" She said with a mouthful of the meat and rice. She had looked at him from the corner of her eyes just to see her looking at her with mild surprise. "What?" She had said, "Is there something on my face?" Zuko shook his head and then pressed his chopsticks against his lips, trying to force himself not to laugh. "Hippo Cooooooooow~ It's so goooooood- AH! ~" She yelped as one was too hot, she had placed the bowl down and fanned her tongue with her hand. "Owowowowowowowow!" Silence had lingered for a time as she continued fanning, the prince's lips quivering at the edges. He knew nothing of what was about to burst from him, an odd chuckle escaping him as he tried to stifle the sound. Until eventually it all came out in one foul swoop...

He was laughing.

It felt so foreign and strange, the sensation something he wasn't quite accustomed to. It had been so long since he'd done anything alike to laughing. He couldn't help it, having to figure out when to breath and how to stop. So many thoughts flew through his head as he just sat there, chuckling away to himself. Kaori had watched with surprise, but most of all confusion. Just what was funny? Did he find her pain humorous?! Her cheeks had flared up, but she couldn't find herself to continue to be angry. The sound of his laughter was enjoyable even though it felt strange to see him laughing. The Prince, he sometimes smiled, but him laughing? That was a first since she met him.

The girl found herself poking her bottom lip out in a pout; embarrassed by it all. He had looked over at her, tears at the corner of his eyes from laughing so hard. He had stopped laughing; his eyes still on her as she had slowly looked back at him, still pouting. Before she could open her mouth and say anything, he had started laughing once again. With a sigh, she hung her head. Zuko could only hope Kaori wasn't offended, since he was laughing at her in all truth. Nothing held it back for now, the dam broken and the amusement flooding out without restriction. Barely in control of his actions anymore, Zuko just let it all happen. He was chuckling away without any way of shutting off the valve that released the humored breaths. It had seemed like decades had passed before he eventually dwindled to a stop, his chest heaving from such an exertion.

He'd coughed a few times from shortness of breath only to drop his head into his uplifted palm. Calming down was perhaps the most difficult bit, exhaustion soon to take its toll. He had needed that. After so long without laughing once... That had certainly been needed. And Kaori had experienced the deep chortles first-hand. At least it was over now. "You done?" She finally asked, "I don't think burning my tongue is funny!" He had placed the bowl down, unable to really eat until he got it all out of system, or at least until he was sure it was out.

"Sorry." He quickly apologized, waving his hand. "It's just… It's hard to imagine someone who nearly killed someone, beat up a bunch of thugs, and nearly outmatched me during a fight earlier… Being excited over food and end up burning herself!" It did sound odd, and it was probably a strange yet humorous sight. Kaori had parted her lips and then found closed them, finding herself laughing now. It was odd now that she thought about it.

Once her laughter died down, she continued to eat and was careful enough to blow the steam off a few of the meat. Zuko had continued eating as well, the silence was more comfortable this time around. Zuko had then noticed the scroll on the end table, "You still reading that?" He asked her.

"Yeah." She answered, "It's getting pretty good." She smiled.

He had slowly nodded, wanting to change the subject. "So, what do you plan to do on Ember Island?" He had asked her.

"What can you do on Ember Island?" She had asked, tilting her head slightly to the side to reveal her curiosity.

"Nothing really unless you enjoy things like: sun tanning, being at the beach, and shopping or whatever. My family used to go there all the time to spend time at the beach and see a play called "Love Amongst The Dragons." It was terrible." He had said as he placed more food in his mouth and chewed it down.

Kaori had looked down at her bowl, which was almost empty except for the few pieces of rice clinging onto the sides of the bowl. "Can we go see a play?"

He had looked at her, an eyebrow arched. "Why?"

"I never saw one before." She shrugged and made an 'I dunno noise'. "And it sounds like it could be fun."

He hadn't said anything but she figured he wasn't too fond of the idea. After all, he did say the one play they would see was terrible. Suddenly they both felt themselves jilt forward, but managed to stop themselves from falling. The tray on the bed, however, had slipped off and fell and hit the ground before sliding to the other wall. Both of them had looked at each other as then suddenly and explosion went off under them. Kaori's back had hit the steel wall, knocking her unconscious as Zuko had manage to hang onto the bed.

There was a large gaping hole where the steel wall and floor was, and the ocean and dark sky were clearly visible. They were under attack. He had ran over to Kaori, scooping her up in his arms as he could feel the ocean water getting into the room.

Another explosion went off and he was pushed out of the ship, being forced into the ocean waters with the brunette in his arms. The water, from how cold it was, woke her from her unconscious state and she had began gasping for air and panicking, her legs moving wildly as she clung onto him. "Kaori! Calm down!" He had said as she fully clung her hands onto the fabric of his shirt, her face pressed against his shoulder. "We have to get out of here…."

His eyes frantically searched around for someone else, wondering if he could find Mai, his sister, Ty Lee, and Masumi. "There's no way we'll reach land in time." Priyala had said, "If only I could give you my water abilities…"

'Could you transfer your power to Kaori?' The dragon hummed, debating it.

"I don't know how…" Priyala sighed, unsure of how to get them out of this situation. "You'll have to find some piece of floating debris and swim from there."

Zuko was already on it. He found a large enough one to fit one person. He had placed Kaori on it and began to push it, swimming with it while looking around if he could fine one of the others. Kaori had coughed some of the water up and rolled to her side. "Kaori, are you alright?"

"I'm," she coughed up some of the water, "I'm fine…" She slowly sat up and looked around. "Where are the others?"

"I don't know but we have to get out of here." He started pushing the piece of the ship, his legs moving forward. Kaori had looked around, trying to find one of the others or at least some land that they could make their way to. "We should be nearing the island soon anyway. It wasn't that far off."

"Zuko it was going to take us four days to get there. There is no way…" The girl stopped herself after seeing Zuko's determined face. No matter what she said, he was too stubborn to give up on the idea.

Suddenly there was a rumble, Zuko stopped swimming and both of them had looked around. Behind Kaori, something had broke the surface and flew up into the air. It appeared to be a giant eel. The body was very long, smooth, and dark greyish-brown skin with no scales. The finlets were pointed and lined down the back of its body from head to tail.

The eyes of it were a bright green and the mouth had sixteen pairs of sharp teeth. There were two very long barbels on either side of its mouth, a bout as long as it but shorter. "Zuko…" Kaori had called the prince, her hand frantically searching for his. She was afraid, very afraid. Zuko had looked at the eel and then at Kaori as her hands were atop of his.

He had looked around and he had seen his broad swords and the katana Kaori used earlier. He had swam over to them, throwing the katana towards her and she had caught it. "The only thing we can do is fight it." He had said as she had looked at him like was crazy. "There's no other way." Kaori had stood as Zuko had pushed the piece of metal that they had used as a raft and headed straight towards the eel.

Once Kaori was close enough, she dived into the water while Zuko had stood on the metal debris. Kaori had the rose to the surface and once she had seen the finlet of the eel, she had grabbed onto it and climbed atop of it. She had held onto it as it raised the upper half of its body from the water and stood, trying to find some balance. With her hand on the handle of the katana, she had ran up the beast, slicing its sides in thin, deep gashes. It moved wildly, but she had managed to stay in but once she had reached the back of its head, an electric shock had went through it and she was hit with it. "Kaori!" Zuko called her as he watched as she had fallen back into the water.

He narrowed his eyes at the eel, as it opened its mouth and aimed its way towards him. He had cocked his arm back and then punched the air, sending a fireball towards its mouth, burning the eel from the inside. It screeched and dived back into the water and searched for Kaori. He had seen her sinking, going deeper into the water. He swam hard, inching close to her and once he grabbed her wrist, he swam back to the surface and wrapped her arms around his neck.

He had to find land or they wouldn't survive, and he was sure that eel would be coming back.

Morning had come, the sun beaming down at them. He had he was saved by an emergency boat and he and Kaori were taken to Ember Island and they were immediately given help. Mai, Azula, Masumi, and Ty Lee had made it there and he and Kaori were the last to arrive.

Kaori, however, had woken up since the fight with the eel was given bed rest in her room in the large beach house they would be staying in. Zuko had constantly checked on her, Masumi sticking around to see if she would awake as well. Li and Lo had promised that she might need a day of more rest, but it only made Zuko worry more.

Kaori's Dream

"Troops!" a voice had shattered the silence, "We're going to take back this village and no matter what, we will fight to protect the people that live here. We will not and cannot fail. I know I made a promise but I made a promise out of peace. We can all live together in peace, but just not like this."

The voice sounded feminine, and despite all the men that had stood before the woman who spoke, they had looked at her as if she was the greatest thing on earth. "Yes Princes Kaori!" One soldier had said.

"We'll follow you until the ends of the Earth!" another had said.

The woman had smiled, "If none of us makes it out alive tonight… At least we did it for our families. For those we lost and for those we love, we will fight to keep them protected. Now rest for morning, we will be in war." she raised her katana high in the air and then turned to leave.

She had descended down the stone steps and walked towards a rather tall male with brown hair that was scruffy. He had slowly turned to her, his amber eyes looking at her. "Zhuyin!" Kaori had called out to him, running towards him as he had turned to face her.

"Shouldn't you be resting, Princess?" He had asked her as she had smiled at him. "We have a war in the morning."

She nodded her head, "I know but… I want to spend all the time I can with you. Who knows if we—"

He placed his finger over her mouth. "You don't have to say it. I know."

Her eyes had lowered and he had removed is finger, placing his hands on her shoulder. "Don't you think we've crossed the line too many times? This is why we're in a war."

"I'm not going to marry someone I don't love. I'm not marrying someone that's not you, Zhuyin." She said, not taking back anything that she had said. "I love you and I want to be with you. You told me that, and now you want to take it all back?"

Zhuyin had held onto her hands, holding them tightly. "I'll never take it all back. I love you Kaori, I always have and I always will but I don't want you losing your life for me, over this."

Kaori had closed her eyes and shook her head, "It's not just about us or Neji. It's about protecting our villages."

The male nodded and kept his hands clasped around hers. "We'll make it, Kaori."

"And both the Fire and Water villages will unite as one." Kaori had said, "And we'll live in peace."

End of Kaori's dream

Kaori had broken out of her sleep, sitting up on the bed with her chest heaving up and down. Her grey eyes scanned the strange room, making her worry. Where was she? What was this place? "Oh, someone has finally arrived to the party." Her eyes had gone to the doorway and she had seen Masumi. "It's been three days, Kaori."

The girl calmed down. "How did they find Zuko and—"

"Search party went lookin' when me and the Princess as well as her posse arrived here." He explained as he walked towards the bed.

Kaori had sighed of relief. "I didn't mean for you to worry. After all, this is supposed to be a vacation."

Soon enough, Zuko had come in to see Masumi sitting beside Kaori. "You're up." He had said as she had looked up at him.

"Are you alright?" She had asked.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" He asked with his arms folded.

The brunette shook her head, "You had to swim with me unconscious all through the night… I mean…If I had been more carefu—"

"It's fine." He raised his hand to stop her from continuing on. He could tell she was still worried about it, which caused him to smile. "Besides, if it weren't for you then I probably wouldn't have the time to distract the giant eel, really."

The girl fiddled with the ends of her hair, unsure if she should believe him or not. Masumi had watched the two quietly before speaking up. "You should join us for lunch. It'll let everyone know you're okay."

"I really don't feel like leaving my bed just yet. I'm not that strong." She sighed, but she spoke honestly. Besides, she didn't feel comfortable around Azula and her friends. She simply felt out of place.

Masumi had stood. "I'll go get you something to eat then." He had left, leaving Zuko alone with Kaori. Zuko had walked over to her bedside and sat down.

"I'm really sorry…" She apologized, "I just wish I—" She paused as she looked at him. Her eyes slightly narrowed, her eyes soon squinting.

"What?" He questioned, "Why are you looking at me like that? What's wrong?"

Kaori shook her head, "It's just your remind me of this guy in my dream. His name was Zhuyin."

"Zhuyin?" Zuko repeated, "The first Fire Lord?"

Kaori's eyes widened. "The first Fire Lord?!"

The prince looked at her skeptically, "Yeah. They said he died in war protecting the woman he loved. I don't know her name, it wasn't recorded, but she was the princess of the water tribe. It was before they traveled south and north. When he died, she traveled to the North Pole, and the others went South. Zhuyin's younger brother took the throne."

The female shook her head, staring at him in disbelief. "None of this makes sense… That can't be possible. It must be a different Zhuyin."

"Why? What happened in your dream?" He had asked her.

Kaori had then pulled her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around her legs. "Well… It was me but it seemed like a very long time ago. I guess back when Zhuyin was first Fire Lord. He and I were lovers, but I guess it was forbidden.."

"Wait, so you're telling me you're the princess that was with the first Fire Lord?" He said, disbelievingly. "How is that even possible?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "Do you believe in reincarnations?"

"…I guess that would make sense. You wouldn't have those memories for no reason but… It's just doesn't make sense." Zuko had shook his head, not sure whether to believe if all of this—from the time he fused was Priyala until now—was some strange dream.

Masumi had came back with a tray of food and walked over and placed it on her lap. Kaori had looked at Masumi and then at Zuko. '…Are they the reincarnations of Zhuyin and Neji?' she thought to herself.

Kaori had picked up the cup of tea, taking a hesitant sip before relishing in the warmth and sweetness of it. Zuko had then stood, "I'll leave you to get some rest." He had said as she had waved, Masumi taking the spot that Zuko had sat on, which made the prince frown as he exited the room.

"You feel okay? You look pale." He commented as she had picked up a piece of bread and took a bite out of it.

"I'm fine… It's just I have a lot on my mind. The ship blew up, I had a crazy dream, and I'm just really all over the place." Kaori had said with the bread in her mouth, chewing it once she had stopped talking, Masumi had watched her as she took another sip of her tea.

"Crazy dream?" Masumi had picked that out of the things she said and pondered.

Kaori had looked at him, "Yeah… I don't wanna talk about it because then you'll think I'm crazy."

"It can't be that bad." Masumi insisted.

"Oh, you don't even know how bad." Kaori had began eating her white rice, occasionally eating some of the noodles. She was not going to tell Masumi about it because she wanted to believe that dream was just a random dream and she didn't want to hear anything that could further prove her theory.

As Zuko had walked down the hall, he had then paused. 'You've been awfully quiet.'

"It's because I know something about Kaori's real identity." Priyala had said, "I didn't want to believe it but I guess it's best to tell you now than to keep waiting."

Zhuyin is the Chinese name that means ""illuminating darkness", or "Torch Shadow". The name comes from a giant, red draconic solar deity in Chinese Mythology.

Neji is the Japanese name that means 'whirl' or 'screw'.