Bodyguard of Azula

by Deus Swiftblade

Naruto is banished from Konoha but gives them the slip and boards a ship. Soon after, he is shipwrecked on Ember island and is saved by Azula. Three years later, Naruto is Azula's bodyguard while she hunts for the Avatar, but did he see the last of Konoha?

19. To Converse and To Rescue

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or The Last Airbender.

Bodyguard of Azula

Chapter 19: To Converse and To Rescue

"Talking"

"Thinking"

"Bijū/spirit talking"

"Bijū/spirit thinking"

(Location: Ba Sing Se)

Iroh sat quietly in his cell, his back to the door. When the door opened, he didn't react. The silence stretched out for a couple of minutes. "…You're just going to ignore me, aren't you?" Naruto finally asked him, standing at the door.

"What do you want, Naruto?" Iroh asked in return. He kept his focus on the cell. It was comfortable enough, he supposed. "You don't seem to be the type of person to visit someone whom the Fire Nation declared a traitor."

"Where did Lu Ten die?" It was a simple question, but when the blonde asked it, the Dragon of the West felt his heart clench.

"Why do you want to know that?" he asked, quiet anger filling his voice. "Do you wish to place a statue on his grave that shows the world how the Fire Nation conquered Ba Sing Se?" If that was the case, they would never know where he had buried his son.

Naruto shook his head at those words. "No, Azula did have a statue made. But it's not to show the defeat of Ba Sing Se, it honors the soldiers that we lost," he explained. "She wants to honor her cousin and the people who served the Fire Nation."

Iroh was silent as those words went through his mind. "…Very well," he finally said before telling Naruto where Lu Ten was killed.

"Thank you, Iroh." He turned around and started to walk out of the cell.

"Naruto," Iroh called out before he closed the door. "If my niece chooses to betray her country and earn her father's wrath, would you still protect her?" He had seen the silent questions beginning to show on his niece in the few seconds he had seen her in Ba Sing Se. He wanted to know what her bodyguard would do.

He stood at the door, his back to Iroh. "I swore to protect her. No matter what it cost me," he answered, walking out of the cell and closing the door behind him. He walked to another door, his feet echoing amongst the rocks. He opened it and walked into a large room where prison bars blocked off half of it. Dai Li agents stood against the wall, ready to move at his command.

In front of the bars was a chair, which he sat in. "So, how's it going, everyone? The effects wear off already?" he asked the Konoha shinobi behind the bars.

"How could you be this unyouthful, Naruto!?" demanded Lee, gripping the bars of the cell tightly in his hands. "How can you imprison your own friends?"

"Hmm, that's funny. Zuko, Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee aren't in that cell. Yāo Jing on the other hand…" he muttered to himself.

"What was that?" Shikamaru asked. He was trying to get every piece of information he could. They were in a situation that demanded such a course of action.

"It's none of your business," the blonde told the lazy shinobi curtly. Yāo Jing was none of their business and he was keen to keep it like that.

"Where is the Kazekage, Naruto?" Asuma asked him. Ever since they woke up in the cell, they didn't know what had happened to the Suna shinobi.

"What does it matter to you?" he asked back. "Are you thinking about leaving Konoha and joining Suna?" He sounded like he didn't care.

"Naruto, if you hurt Temari, I will tear your head off!" Shikamaru threatened him, uncharacteristic anger appearing on his face. He looked like he was about to pry the bars apart.

Naruto looked at him for a minute, quiet surprise on his face. He had obviously not been expecting that reaction. "…Well, what do you know? You do care."

"How were you able to take control of Ba Sing Se so easily?" Kurenai asked him. That was the question on their minds. It seemed like he had just walked in and took control of everything.

"What? Are you asking me if I took control in a day?" He laughed like what she said was a joke. "I took control from Long Feng last autumn. It was quite easy, all things considering."

"If you had the city, why didn't you arrest us the moment we came through the Inner Wall," Chōji asked him. He would've had them at that exact moment and they wouldn't have been able to do anything about it.

"In case you forgot, I was with you at the time, fat-ass," the blonde replied, setting the Akimichi off. "Besides, I didn't go through all the trouble of those plans to beat the arrowhead for no reason."

"Plans?" repeated Shikamaru as his other two teammates calmed down Chōji. "What plans?"

Naruto smirked. "Didn't you realize it, Shikamaru? You guys have been dancing to my tune ever since Full Moon Bay. If I wanted to, I could've made it so that Aang would have never found Appa."

"What are you talking about?" Hinata asked. "Aang had missing posters of Appa sent around the city." Team Asuma had informed the other teams on what had happened in the city when they first woke up.

"And the person who had information was someone he knew, AKA, Jet," he finished for her. "And you guys already know that he was captured and brainwashed by the Dai Li. What you don't know is that I was the reason he got caught in the first place. I sent the Dai Li into to the scene Jet was causing with Zuko and Iroh. And afterwards, once they had him, I ordered that he be brainwashed."

"But Jet was brainwashed so he could mislead us," Ino protested. If Naruto had him brainwashed, he could've been ordered to kill them. Instead, he tried to lead them down a false trail.

"And how did you find out about the brainwashing?" Naruto asked her. "Do you think it was a coincidence that his two friends came out of that side street just as soon as you past? All it really took was a crashed cart here, a sell on meat and vegetables there and before you know it, they saw their old friend and telling you all about what happened. Arranging all of that was easy. So was getting Katara to run back to tattle to the Earth King and getting caught by Azula." He saw the looks on their faces. "Do you think that it was a coincidence that Iroh's teashop was in the perfect spot between the Council of Five and the Royal Palace? The guy who made the offer works for me."

"Works for you?" Hinata repeated, like she couldn't believe what she had heard.

"Yes. Quite a few businesses in the city work for me." It had been something he had done when he first entered Ba Sing Se. He only had a few, but they were in the right places. That was all he needed.

"Why did Long Feng never realize that he was no longer in control?" Shino asked.

"He got overconfident and careless. Once he began to treat the city as his own toy, his control of the Dai Li began to slip. When I snuck into the city and met them, it was the state I found them in. Contrary to what you may think of the Dai Li, most of them did felt that it was their duty to protect the city. Not like Long Feng was doing but protecting it for real. So, when I presented myself to the head Dai Li agent, he agreed with what I wanted to do and so did the others."

"It did not go that easily. You must've had difficulties," Neji protested. There were always difficulties when people did things like that.

"True," the blonde admitted. "There were Dai Li agents who were actually loyal to Long Feng. We had to be careful. If we killed too many at one time, he would've noticed. You would not believe how much time it takes to make a Dai Li agent's death look accidental and I had to plan several of them at the same time."

"And so, you stayed in Ba Sing Se," Kurenai finished for him.

"I only stayed until the start of winter. After that, I kept a clone in Ba Sing Se. Every two weeks, new information would be given to the clone. He would make another clone and then dispel himself, allowing me to get the new information."

"So,when you walked back in with us, you knew everything that had happen in your absence," Asuma said. It was the perfect way to manipulate them into falling for his traps.

"How did you get past us?" Chōji ask the blonde. There shouldn't have been a way for him to get pass them so easily.

"His control over his chakra grew, remember?" Shikamaru told him.

"But Sokka had Akela, who's met him before," Kiba pointed out. "Even if he used a Henge, his scent would still have been the same." That was a lesson ever Inuzuka clan member knew by heart.

As they spoke, Ino remembered the time they had spent on the Serpent's Pass. Specifically, she remembered that one little talk Katara and Shù Yè had.

Katara walked alongside Shù Yè. "Hey, about last night," she began before smelling something in the air. "What is that?"

"Herb ointment," Shù Yè answered curtly. "Helps relieve some of the back pain I get in the morning. The rest disappears after I walk a bit."

"I see Ino figured it out," Naruto announced for all to hear. "Shall I tell them,or will you?"

"What's he talking about, Ino?" Tenten asked her, curious to know.

"Shù Yè always smelled like herb ointment," she told them. "It wasn't strong, but it stopped Akela from recognizing him." It was a simple and effective method.

"It wasn't strong to humans. But to any animal that got close, it was the only thing they could smell," Naruto informed them.

"And so, you walked in right with us," Asuma said.

"I'll admit that there had been a few times where the clone and I switched places. For example, when I destroyed the drill or when Sokka attempted to interrogate people for information about Appa. But just to make sure you didn't suspect me, I planted evidence that ensured you thought I was trustworthy. And that came in the form of the Earth King's pet bear."

"Bosco?" asked Chōji, confused by what he said.

Shikamaru realized where this was going. "Those memories he has of you are false, aren't they?"

Kurenai figured out what Naruto did just as quickly as Shikamaru did. "You used a Memori Ishoku (Memory Implantation)?" she asked the blonde.

"Sure did," he answered easily enough.

"That's an A-ranked Genjutsu!" It was a surprise that he could a do a high ranking jutsu like that, even more so when it was a Genjutsu.

"Kurenai-sensei, didn't you say the Memori Ishoku has a big weakness?" Hinata asked. She remembered her sensei having that conversation with them after they had been promoted to Chūnin.

Kurenai nodded in acknowledgement. "After a lengthy period, the false memories start to deteriorate. If you try to reinforce the memories, the person will start to lose their sanity."

"On people, yes," Naruto said, joining the conversation again. "But you've never tried it on animals, have you? Besides, you're assuming that I planted the memories back in the autumn."

"When else could you have done it?" Shikamaru asked.

"How about at a party for said bear, does that work?"

(Flashback)

"Excuse me, sirs," Naruto told the two men in his disguise as a waiter. "But the Earth King wanted the bear near the best food. If you'll excuse me…" He held the food under the bear's nose, getting his attention.

Slowly, he forced the bear back to the end of the table where his seat was by using the food's delicious smell. Once the bear was seated, the food was placed in front of him. "Here you are, sir," he told the bear. "The Earth King wants the catering staff to tell you to mind your manners. So please be careful about how you eat. You wouldn't want the Earth King to be mad at you, would you?" His hands, obscured from everyone's view, quickly went through the necessary handseals. "Genjutsu: Memori Ishoku." He muttered before touching the bear's fur. The bear's eyes widened slightly as the jutsu took hold.

Seeing that his mission was done, Naruto walked away.

(End Flashback)

"So, you gave the bear false memories to ensure your place with the group," Shino said. "And you told them that story so that when you actually met the bear, his reactions would be genuine." It was quite a brilliant move. He was willing to admit that.

"The story was real as well;in case you're wondering," Naruto told them. "I did actually spend the winter when I was five with a mother bear and her cub. The only difference is that when spring came, a villager killed the mother bear and the cub. When he found me, he decided that it would be a great opportunity to kill the Kyūbi Brat." He said those last words with a self-mocking tone. "Of course, that's when the ANBU arrived. Always showing up when it looked like they were going to fail their job and lose their lives."

"Don't mock those people, Naruto," Kurenai said to him sternly. "They tried to protect you."

"And what a great job the ANBU did protecting me. Yet they turned a blind eye when those villagers who were calling for my head tried to kill me. How could I appreciate what they have done?" he asked, completely sarcastic. "There were probably a few who cared, but many of them agreed with what the villagers view me. Nothing but a filthy, subhuman who is unworthy of life."

"Naruto, you're as human as the rest of us," Neji said. "It doesn't matter what they thought of—"

"You don't know what it's like to be branded with a mark that sets you apart. A mark that can never be wiped away," Naruto said, cutting him off. "Your words, Neji, not mine."

The Hyūga branch member remembered those words. He also remembered when and where he had said them. "…I will admit I said those words, but I've changed. I don't believe those words anymore."

"And I'm guessing that after years teasing me, calling me names,and making fun of what I could do as a shinobi, you've all come to care for me?" the blonde asked the rest of the Konoha Eleven.

"Of course, we have, Naruto," Hinata told him. They all cared for him and wanted him to come home.

He gave a snort of derision at her words. "If that was true, then I wouldn't have left, and the village wouldn't have betrayed me."

"The village would've never betrayed you, Naruto!" Lee shouted at him. "They would never do something so unyouthful!"

"Then why did the Hokage plan to have me exiled?" he asked back. "Can you tell me why?"

"Lady Tsunade wasn't going to actually banish you, Naruto," Ino tried to tell him. "She was going to have you smuggled out to Lord Jiraiya before the Fire Daimyo came."

"I know." That single sentence stopped the Konoha shinobi cold.

"You…knew?" Kurenai repeated, stunned to hear such a thing. "But how could you even…?" She trailed off, unsure if she should finish it.

"Henge and knowledge of the ventilation system in the Hokage building," he answered. "I was there, listening when they decided to banish me, and I was there when that plan was suggested."

"But then you knew that she was trying to protect you," Asuma told him.

"If she wanted to protect me, she should've refused to banish me!" he shouted, anger filling his voice and catching them by surprise. "She should've told the councils that I was going to stay in the village and nothing they could do would change that! But instead, she decides to go along with this idea to have me smuggled out of the village and only let me back when the village needed me, like I was some kind of weapon. Oh wait, I WAS!"

"Big deal!" Kiba roared, glaring back at Naruto. "So, what if your childhood was messed up!? We also suffered as well, you know! We wanted to be friends with you when we were younger, but our parents simply told us to stay away from you, and never gave a reason!"

Neji nodded but with a frown. "Have you become the very person that we once were, before you changed our viewpoint for the better? From what I heard, when Konohamaru told us after you were banished, you had the uncanny ability to inspire people to change for the better. What happened to that old Naruto that we knew?"

"He died. Stabbed in the back, by the village that did not want him. Now I'm here, in another continent, fighting a war." Naruto turned to the Jōnin. "Did you really think that I would be the same ninja that you all knew if I came back? That life is gone, and it's never coming back."

Kiba snorted. "We can still try."

The room was silent for a couple of minutes. He was angry, they could tell that much just by that little outburst. "What are you going to do us?" Shikamaru finally asked him once he was sure the blonde had calmed down. "Are you going to leave us to rot in this prison? We'll escape eventually."

"I know you would, which is why I'm going to give you a choice. Do you see the Dai Li agents against the wall behind me?" He gestured to the agents.

"Of course, we can see them," Tenten answered. They were right there for everyone to see. They had just been standing there, like statues. It was a little creepy, if she had to be honest.

"Good to know, because this is what is going to happen: I'm going to leave but the Dai Li will stay. If you are still here after half an hour, they will leave and collapse the room, effectively burying you alive."

"That's no choice at all!" Chōji shouted, bringing his hands to the bars. "You're going to kill us!?"

"There is a choice, Akimichi," he told him. "Shut up and listen. I know that most of you came here via a seal and I know that you can leave the same way."

"How do you know that?" Neji asked.

He smirked and pointed at Team Asuma. "They told me."

Everyone looked at them. The members of Team Asuma were cursing themselves. During the month they had spent in Ba Sing Se, Shù Yè had asked them about where they came. They told a few things but nothing about Konoha. She then asked them how they got here, Ino showed her one of the seals and Shikamaru told her how it worked.

"So, here's your choice: You can leave here and return to Konoha, which would mean failing the mission and abandoning Sokka and the others," the blonde told them. "Or you can try to break out of here and escape. But we all know it will take you more than half an hour to come up with a successful plan to get out of the city. You also have to consider the fact that if you do actually get out of the prison, every Dai Li agent will be on the lookout for you and has orders to kill you if sighted." He looked at all of them. "So, what will it be, the mission or your friends?"

"That's an impossible choice, Naruto, and you know it!" Shino said. There was quiet anger evident in his voice.

"And yet, a Konoha shinobi had this problem before. Which is why I'm calling it the Sakumo Hatake Dilemma," he told them before getting up from the chair. "Enjoy yourselves." He walked away.

"Is that all you're going to do, Naruto?" Neji asked him. "Are you just going to keep running away from us?"

He stopped at the door, his hand reaching for the handle. The words of the man in the swamp came back to him.

No matter how hard you run or fight against it, your past will come back to you. The question is: what you will do when it catches up.

"The past is exactly that, the past." he thought to himself."…I left the village and you all behind," he said aloud. "If I want to keep running, I will. In case you decide to leave, I'll give you all this last warning: you ever come back here; I will kill you and send your head back to the village. Make no mistake." He opened the door and walked out.

He left the door opened as he walked through the corridor. "GO AHEAD, NARUTO! YOU JUST KEEP ON RUNNING! BUT WHEN YOU FINALLY STOP, WE'LL BE THERE. WE'LL ALWAYS BE THERE TO BRING YOU BACK!" Kiba's voice rang out through the open door.

He stopped at the staircase. "No, you won't," He said to himself, before walking up the stairs.

---

Zuko walked down the street. It was a little subtle, but he could tell the difference in the people. Before, they went along with their lives, like nothing was wrong. But they were all afraid of the Dai Li and the mere mention of the war, afraid that if they spoke out, they would be taken away.

Now, the threat of the Dai Li coming into their lives was gone, but they were still afraid. They were afraid of the Fire Nation and its soldiers. The difference was that where they had hidden their fear of the Dai Li, their fear of the Fire Nation was out in the open. They looked at the soldiers, the tundra tanks, the komodo rhinos with different levels of fear, sadness, anger, and hostility. He couldn't blame them. At least under the reign of Long Feng and the Dai Li, everything was normal, and everyone knew what was supposed to happen. But now, they didn't know what would happen and that terrified them.

As he walked, he saw a familiar sight: Pao's teashop, the teashop where he and Iroh first worked at when they came into the city. It was there he met Jin, who asked him out on a date and had gotten a job there, last he heard.

Deciding not to push his luck, he kept on walking. When he reached the end of the street, he heard a woman scream and the sounds of a fight starting. Turning back around, he saw a nearby group of Fire Nation soldiers run into the building. He rushed to the teashop's door and opened it. What he saw was the teashop in ruins, a group of city guards standing in front of a group of Earth Kingdom citizens, two of which he recognized as Jin and Pao, and the same group of Fire Nation soldiers trying to restrain one of their own. All heads turned to look at him as he stood in the doorway.

"What is going on here?" he asked as he walked in.

"Move along, pretty boy," the restrained Fire Nation solider said, his voice slurring, telling Zuko that he was drunk. "This doesn't concern you."

"It does concern me when Fire Nation soldiers are causing a fight," he replied before turning to one of the city guards. "What happened?"

"Why should we tell you? We all know that you're going to let him free," one of the citizens snarled at him, full hatred in his voice.

"I'm trying to help." He turned to his gaze to Pao. "Pao, do you recognize me?"

"…Lee, is that you?" the teashop owner asked, his eyes widening in recognition. When Zuko nodded, he looked at the guards. "Tell him what happened, he can help us."

One of the guards looked at Zuko. "The restrained soldier came in here, demanding food and drink," he began. "He was drunk, so a waitress asked him to leave. He slapped her and knocked her to the floor. He then thought it would be okay to force himself on the waitress. I and the other guards got him off the waitress. Enraged, he tried to fight us. It was then the other Fire Nation soldiers came in and restrained the drunken soldier."

Zuko nodded his thanks to the guard. He turned around and looked at the restrained soldier. He walked over to the side of the shop where the Fire Nation soldiers had restrained the drunken soldier. "Is what he said true?" he asked. His voice was even and calm, making the other soldiers nervous.

"So, what if it is?" the soldier demanded, trying to break free of the grip of the other soldiers. "She's nothing but a filthy Earth Kingdom whore. She should've been honored that I wanted to impregnate her. We are the greatest of the Four Nations!"

Zuko just looked at him and then turned his attention to other soldiers. "Release him," he ordered, placing his hand on his Dao swords.

They were hesitant, but they obeyed. The second the drunken soldier was released, his hands blurred. The Dao swords whipped out of their sheath and made a bloody slash on the soldier's cheeks. The soldier stumbled back, allowing Zuko to take the advantage. He held one Dao sword at the soldier's throat and the other at his crotch.

"I want you to listen and listen well," he told the drunken soldier. "The Fire Nation may have conquered Ba Sing Se, but that does not mean we will treat the people of this city like trash. They are under our protection now. Anyone who harms them will answer to the law, same as those who would harm a citizen of the Fire Nation."

"How dare you…!" the soldier bellowed, moving to punch Zuko, only to stop when he felt the Dao swords press down.

"If you want to lose both your life and what makes you a man, keep talking." He turned his attention to the other soldiers. "Take this man and place him in jail. I want him to be court-martialed within the week."

The other soldiers looked unsure. "Um…who are you, sir?" one of them finally dared to ask.

"Did you ever hear about the Siege of Akawan?" he asked in return. If they knew, they would know who he was.

And they did. The soldiers' eyes (even the drunken one) widened in realization once they had figured it out. "O-Of course, my lord," the soldier said, bowing his head. "My apologies, we did not know who you were."

"It does not matter," he replied, taking his Dao swords away from the drunken soldier and sheathing them. "Just make sure this…sorry excuse for a soldier is behind bars."

"Yes, Prince Zuko." The soldiers chained the drunk and led him out of the shop. In the silence that followed, Zuko turned to look at the rest of the people there. The silence stretched out for several minutes before he reached for his belt, took off a bag of money and tossed it at Pao.

"For the damages," he said quietly, before walking out the door. As he walked back onto the street, he spotted a familiar blonde nearby. "Naruto."

"Nice job in there," Naruto told him, leaning against the teashop wall.

"How long were you listening?" he asked. He never did like it when people were listening on him. It made him feel uneasy.

"Since the guard told you what happened." He glanced up at the afternoon sun. "Are you going somewhere or you just wandering around?"

"…I just felt like taking a walk." It was the only way he felt like he could think about things (ironically, he couldn't think at all).

The blonde walked up alongside him. "Come on, we should head back to the palace." The two of them started to walk away in the direction of the Royal Palace. It was a long walk, so they filled the air between them with conversation "Do you feel any different?"

Zuko gave him a look. "What kind of question is that?" It was certainly a weird one. There was no doubt about that.

"Humor me. You're not in exile anymore. Do you feel any different?"

"I don't know," he answered with a shrug. "It still feels like I'm exiled. Feels like I still don't have my honor back."

The blonde snorted in derision at those words. "I told you before. You've restored your honor back at Akawan."

"What makes you say that?"

"You and Iroh walked straight into the colony, knowing that if you were caught, you would be executed. When the attack came, you didn't take the chance to run. You went straight into the fight and fought alongside the soldiers. You took command of the city and held out for six days, which is impressive for someone who had never been in command before. You then decided to take the offensive to the enemy and successfully defeated him, ending the threat to the colony," he listed off the reasons with his fingers. "I can almost guarantee that once you get back to the Fire Nation, people will ask you why you did all that."

"It was the right thing to do. I may have been a prince in exile, but I was still a prince. They were my people; it was my duty to protect them." It might not have been his choice in the first place, but he was a prince of the Fire Nation. He did his duty, and his duty then was to the colony of Akawan. They walked on in silence for what felt like the longest time, the buildings around them gradually becoming better maintained. "Hey, Naruto, I've got a question for you," he said as they walked through the Upper Ring.

"What?"

"How did you deal with Azula?"

His eyes went flat at those words. "You might want to consider rephrasing that question," he told Zuko. The threat that came with those words was silent, but it was clear.

"What I mean is how did you change her?" the Scarred Dragon clarified, having heard the threat. "She's different from three years ago."

The silent threat disappeared when Naruto heard those words and was satisfied by them. "What makes you say that?" The blonde asked him, curious to see what he would say.

"It's the small things. The way she says certain words, how she acts, her decisions. That stuff."

"There's a reason for that," he began. "Azula has been having the same problems as you, she is conflicted. The only difference is that you had Iroh to help you. She had no one she could trust until I became her bodyguard. It wasn't easy, I'll admit that." It had been a challenge. "She is different, but I don't know if it will stay like that." He paused for a second as they stopped to watch a carriage go by. "You know, before we left, she would sometimes spend hours looking at the portrait of your family that hung in her room."

Zuko was surprised by that little piece of information. "Why?" he asked as they started walking again.

"I asked her once. She told me that when she looked at the painting, she wanted to know if her mother hated her."

"Why would she care? Azula never cared about our mother." She always more interested in trying to be more like their father.

"Zuko, all children want to know that their parents love them," the blonde told him. "You want your father's love. Azula just wants to know if her mother loved her." He stopped walking and watched as a family walked by. "You guys are lucky."

Zuko looked at the same family and then looked at Naruto. "What makes you say that?"

He gave a sad smile as the family passed them. "You know your parents."

The Scarred Dragon winced when he heard those words. He had forgotten that Naruto was an orphan from birth. "Sorry."

"Don't apologize. It's not your fault." He watched the family disappear around a street corner. "Let's just go." They walked on in silence until they reached the Royal Palace. They stood at the base of the steps so they could look up at the palace in all of its imposing glory.

Finally, they climbed up the steps and saw that a Dai Li agent was waiting for them. "Sir," the agent greeted Naruto. "They disappeared ten minutes after you left"

"Did they escape?" the blonde asked.

"No sir."

"Good. What about the others?"

"We have kept them in the room and maintain a watch on them. About two hours ago, we heard someone inside say 'Finally!" loudly," the agent reported. "We are unsure of who said it and what they meant."

He smiled briefly when he heard those words. "That's okay, I have a feeling I know who was talking. Dismissed," he told the agent, who bowed and walked away.

"What was that about?" Zuko asked as they walked through the large doors. It was a cryptic conversation; one he had no clue what they were talking about.

"The first part doesn't concern you, not anymore," the blonde replied as they walked through the hallways. "The second part was about some people I once knew." He stopped walking when they came into a junction.

Yāo Jing was waiting for them. "Hello, little brother, Naruto," she greeted them with fake politeness. She had a smile on her face that they all knew was faked. "Were you talking about something?"

"Yes, we were talking about the number of men you've been screwing since you were ten," Naruto replied with a straight face. Zuko held his tongue, but he could not keep the brief look of shock and surprise off his face when he heard those words.

Yāo Jing's eyes went flat and her face hard at those words. "You think you're so funny, don't you?" She made it sound like she wanted to hit him right then and there.

Naruto smirked. "Oh, I don't think. I know I'm funny. Do you actually need something or are you just off to your next conquest?"

"There will come a day, Naruto, when you aren't protected by your duty to Azula. On that day, I will make you suffer." she snarled.

"At the very least, try to make an effort," he replied, the smile still on his face. She clenched and unclenched her hands, like she wanted to desperately to bend a fireball at him. But instead, she stalked off.

"What were you thinking!?" Zuko asked him in a strangled whisper.

"I don't trust that woman. And neither should you," he replied, the smile disappearing.

"I know that already." He knew it all too well. If there was one thing that he and Azula shared, it was their hatred and fear of their bastard sister.

"Zuko, I mean it. Watch your back around her."

He looked at Naruto. He'd only heard that tone in his voice once before, when he was and Azula were going to be assassinated and he had saved them. That voice meant he was deadly serious. "Alright, Naruto, I'll be careful."

"Thank you, Zuko. And now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go talk to some people. Do me a favor and get Azula."

"Alright, I'll go find her." He went off in one corridor while the blonde went off in another.

The walk felt long, mostly because the hallways were almost mazelike in their structure. But he wasn't troubled by it. He walked on until he found the door to the room he was looking for. He turned his attention back to the seemingly empty corridor.

"Stand down," he said aloud. "A watch is no longer necessary." He didn't see any movement, but he knew that the Dai Li agents who were standing watch had left. Turning back to face the door, he took a deep breath and opened the door.

Kankurō was at a table, adjusting what looked like a puppet. Temari was polishing her fan nearby and Gaara was sitting against his gourd, meditating. But they stopped what they were doing and turned to their attention to Naruto as he walked into the room. "…So, you've finally decided to reveal yourself, Naruto," Gaara said as he stood up.

The blonde chuckled. "I should've figured I wouldn't get past you, Gaara. When did you figure it out?" he asked the Kazekage.

"When you showed yourself to the Earth King on the Outer Wall." It had been simple enough to put the pieces together. He just wondered if the others had done so before it was too late (but he had guessed they hadn't).

"Where are the others, Naruto?" Kankurō asked. "Where is Team Asuma?"

"Why do you care?" he asked back, only to have a kunai at his throat, courtesy of Temari.

"If you've done anything to them, to Shikamaru, I will tear your head off!" she growled at him.

He didn't move, but his eyes showed surprise. "I'll be damned. You're both in love with each other," he said, wonder in his voice.

"What did you do!?" she demanded, ready to press the blade down harder on him.

"I made them leave and go back to the Elemental Countries. Shikamaru is safe, Temari," he assured her. "He's back at the village."

She felt a hand on her shoulder. "That's enough, Temari," Kankurō told her, his voice calm and controlled. "Lower the kunai." She did as she was told and stepped away from Naruto.

"Thanks, Kankurō. How's that doll coming?" he asked with a smirk on his face.

"It's a puppet!" he half-shouted at the blonde, the calm and control in his voice disappearing in a blink of an eye.

"Kankurō," Gaara said with a warning in his voice.

The puppeteer stopped, knowing what kind of warning it was. "Sorry, Gaara," he apologized. He turned his attention back to Naruto. "I managed to finish it. There are just a few adjustments that need to be done."

"Well, when you're done, how about you and I spar so you can test it in the field."

He grinned. "Sounds like a plan."

"Naruto," Gaara spoke again, getting the blonde's attention. "On the Outer Wall, you hid it well, but you were surprised when you saw me. Why?"

He was instantly silent, not wanting to answer the question. But the unflinching stare the redhead was giving made him eventually answer. "I saw you die, Gaara."

"What?" both Kankurō and Temari exclaimed, clearly surprised.

"How?" asked Gaara. "We haven't seen each other for three years."

"It was a dream. I watched as the Akatsuki extracted Shukaku from you. I saw them leave your dead body on the ground, like it was nothing but garbage." He was quiet for a few seconds. "…That was the only time I wanted to go back to the Elemental Countries." He desperately wanted to go, but the fox reminded him that it would've been too late and pointless.

"But why would you want to do that if you've stayed here all this time?" Temari asked him.

"Because he is my friend," he answered firmly. "If anything, he's my brother too."

The Sand Siblings were caught off-guard by that. "Naruto, if you saw what had happened, you know I'm not a Jinchūriki anymore," Gaara told him quietly.

"Doesn't matter, you were the same as me," he replied. "That's what makes us brothers."

Gaara remembered what Pathik had said during his time at the Eastern Air Temple.

"The greatest illusion of this world is the illusion of separation. Things you think are separate and different are actually one and the same."

"Not just the Elemental Countries," the redhead thought to himself. "But being a Jinchūriki doesn't mean being alone. Naruto is right. We are like brothers." For some reason, he was glad to think such a thing. "Thank you," he told the blonde.

"Not a problem, buddy," he replied before giving the redhead a bear hug, who, after a moment's hesitation, returned it just as fiercely.

"I hope we're not interrupting anything?" Azula asked from the doorway with a small smirk. Zuko, Mai, and Ty Lee stood behind her.

"What? Guys can't hug each other?" Naruto asked back, breaking the hug and looked at the princess.

"You don't see it every day," Mai said in a bored tone.

Deciding to be funny, he turned to look at Kankurō. "Kankurō! Hug me, you beautiful bastard!" he cried, throwing his arms wide.

The puppeteer saw where he was going with this and decided to play along. "Come here, you amazing asshole!" They pulled each other into a hug and tried to break the other's back.

"Okay, we get the point already!" Temari told the two. "Knock it off!"

"No fun, Temari, no fun," Naruto told her as he and Kankurō broke the hug, big grins on their faces.

"So, what can you do, good looking?" Ty Lee asked Gaara as she leapt in front of him with a cheerful smile on her face.

"Excuse me?" he asked in return with a slightly confused look on his face.

"Sorry, Gaara," Naruto apologized. "Ty Lee will flirt with anything that walks on two legs and has a penis."

"That's not funny, Naruto!" She huffed at him as she pouted. "I'm not that bad." She did have some standards and he knew that.

"Of which every male in the Fire Nation who has a girlfriend is thankful for," he replied with a straight face.

"Gaara has a girlfriend!" Kankurō and Temari quickly chimed in.

"Oh, sorry then," the acrobat apologized to the Kazekage. She made it a rule to never flirt with someone who was with someone.

"It's no problem." He assured her.

"Ty Lee, how about you get out of our guest's face?" Azula suggested with a small smirk on her face. Ty Lee flipped away and landed next to Azula, still a little embarrassed.

Naruto looked at Gaara. "You have a girlfriend?"

"Of sorts," he replied, his cheeks lightly blushing. It was something he didn't really talk about and quite frankly, he was still unsure about it all.

But the blonde just smiled at his friend. "Way to go, Gaara."

"Naruto, could we get an introduction?" Azula asked him pointedly. She didn't know his friends' names and she knew that was incredibly rude.

"Of course, princess," he replied, his tone becoming formal. "May I introduce Gaara no Sabaku, Godaime Kazekage of Sunagakure, his brother, Kankurō, and his sister, Temari." He turned to the Sand Siblings. "Gaara, this is the Princess Azula of the Fire Nation, her friends, Mai and Ty Lee, and her brother, Prince Zuko, known to the soldiers as the Scarred Dragon."

They exchanged pleasantries. "So, what can you guys do?" Azula asked the Sand Siblings. If they were like her guard, they must be able to do some amazing things.

"Gaara can manipulate sand, Temari can use the wind via her fan, and Kankurō is a puppeteer," Naruto told her, speaking for the shinobi.

Ty Lee tried to stifle a giggle but failed when she heard what Kankurō could do. "You…you play with dolls!" she said, tears of laughter falling from her eyes. It was just too funny.

Kankurō said nothing in return. He just shifted his eyes over to his worktable and then to Gaara and Naruto, his eyebrows raised in a question. Gaara nodded once. "By all means," Naruto told him.

He raised his left hand and flexed his fingers. Ty Lee's mouth clamped shut (not of her own violations, due to the muted sounds coming from her mouth) and her arms snapped to her side. When he moved his right hand, the puppet on the worktable flew over and landed in front of her. A knife popped out of the right wrist and was pointed at her throat.

"Had you met any other members of the Puppeteer Corps, you would be dead for making fun of us," he told her with a smile that screamed danger to her. "Would you like to continue laughing now?"

"N-No!" she squeaked, the chakra string holding her mouth closed disappearing.

"Good to know." He placed the puppet back on the worktable and let Ty Lee be able to move her arms again. That had been fun.

"You can use the wind?" Zuko asked Temari. "You're an Airbender?"

"No, Zuko," Naruto told him. "She uses the wind, not the air."

"What's the difference?" They were one and the same to him.

"With air, you push your opponent away," Temari explained. "Wind, you slice them into pieces."

When he heard the way, she said it, he was a little unsettled by it. "That's a…graphic way of saying it. I'm sure the Avatar would have nightmares with what you just said about the differences between using the wind and using the air," he finally said.

She shrugged. "Tell it like it is."

"Hey, if he can use sand, doesn't that make him a Sandbender?" Mai asked, looking at Gaara. "I thought Benders only existed on this side of the planet."

"He's not a Bender, Doom and Gloom," Naruto told her. "But, if we were to use that context, calling him a Bender would be a bit insulting. He would not be a Sandbender. He would be the Sandbender."

"…That doesn't make any sense," Ty Lee finally said. Azula, Mai, and Zuko nodded in agreement.

He rolled his eyes and turned to the Kazekage. "Gaara, can I borrow a kunai?" Gaara handed him one. He took it and, before anyone could stop him, plunged it into Gaara's eye. But the attempt was stopped when sand from Gaara's gourd blocked the kunai. "See? The sand protects him if someone tries to harm him," the blonde explained as he pulled the kunai out of the sand. "No Sandbender I know of can do that." He handed the kunai back to Gaara.

"Very impressive," Azula commented.

Ty Lee tried to chi block the Kazekage, who made no attempt to stop her. His sand, however, blocked her every strike. "That's cool!" she exclaimed as she looked at him. "Huh…that's weird." She frowned as she stared at him.

"What is weird?" he asked, confused by what she was doing.

"You've got two auras, but…one of them is like a shadow of an aura," the acrobat told him. "It's like it was there once, but now it's…gone and left an imprint."

He was about to say something when Naruto spoke up. "Ty Lee, how can someone have a shadow of an aura?" the blonde asked her, making it sound like what she had said was ridiculous.

"I don't know," she replied, looking at him with the frown. "This is the first time I ever seen something like this, okay?"

"You're probably imaging things."

Her eyes narrowed. "That's funny. You said something similar when we first met you."

"Anyway," Zuko said, raising his voice to get their attention, "what are we going to do with them? They were helping the Avatar and his friends. Father would probably want to see them in chains."

Naruto snorted in derision when he heard that. "Not even the Royal Flaming Asshole is stupid enough to place a foreign head of state in jail," he said. "Besides, he's on vacation."

"Oh really?" asked Azula, an idea running through her head. She turned to Gaara. "Lord Kazekage, how would you like to be able to visit the Fire Nation as a part of your vacation? It would be a privilege to have you and your family as our guests."

Gaara realized what she was offering. If they went to the Fire Nation as guests, it would protect them even more from being thrown in jail. "It would be our pleasure, Princess Azula," he answered, bowing his head a little.

"That was very smooth, Azula," Naruto complimented her, wearing a proud smile.

"Thank you, Naruto," she replied, a small blush on her cheeks. She didn't get complements like that from him every day.

"Okay, let's get out of here. It's getting crowded," he said, ushering Zuko, Ty Lee, Mai, and Azula out of the room. He gave a small wave of goodbye to the Sand Siblings before closing the door to their room. "Alright, people, go about your business," he told everyone in the corridor. "Azula, I have something to check on." He turned away from then and walking away.

"U-Uh…Naruto?" Azula called out, blushing harder now.

He stopped and looked back at her. "What?"

"Would you like to…um…go out tonight and…?" She struggled to say the words. It shouldn't be this hard to say a few words, Agni take it!

"What?"

"Have dinner together?" she asked him, the words rushing out of her mouth.

To say Naruto was caught off guard would've probably been an understatement. "Oh…uh…um…sure, it would be my pleasure. I'll come by your room in about four hours, okay?" he offered. Azula just nodded, already embarrassed. He walked away, his face calm. On the inside however, his brain was almost on shut down. "What just happened?"

"Congratulations, kit, you just got asked out on a date," the Kyūbi told him, before wiping a fake tear away. "They grow up so fast."

"Oh, shut up, furball!" he yelled at the fox.

---

Four hours later, he looked at the mirror, checking his reflection. "It's weird," he said mostly to himself. "I've killed more men than I would want to count in the three years of war I've been in and I've never flinched. Now a girl that I know has asked me out to dinner and I'm almost freaking out."

"What do you mean, 'almost?'" the Kyūbi asked his Jinchūriki with a raised eyebrow.

"Not now, Kyūbi," the blonde replied. "I'm nervous here."

"I can tell."

"I've never be asked out before."

"No, of course, they usually try to rape you."

"You're not helping." If anything, the fox was making it worse.

"Relax, you making it sound more horrifying than it is. I have seen this kind of thing more times than I can count, both receiving and asking."

"Receiving and asking?" his Jinchūriki asked, unsure of what his Bijū meant.

"My last host got asked out so many times, it was getting old," the fox began to explain. "But the one time she tried to ask someone out herself, she was stammering and stuttering so hard, I was howling with laughter. In the end, she couldn't say it, so the guy asked her out himself."

"Who was your last host?" He had learned that he was not the first host of the Kyūbi back when the fox was training him. He had also learned the Yondaime Hokage, Minato Namikaze, was his father. He had taken it rather well, mainly because he had never known the man and he couldn't blame him for what he did. They had never discussed who the pervious hosts were.

"Oh…um…my last host was…" the fox mumbled. "Ah…I'm going to have to be honest with you, gaki. You've already met her."

"I have? When did I meet her?" He turned away from the mirror and walked to the door.

"Do you remember the woman you saw after you got out of the swamp?"

"Yeah, that was her?" He asked as he reached out for the handle.

"Her name was Kushina Uzumaki and…she was your mother."

His hand was gripped on the handle when that bombshell was dropped. "She was WHAT?!"

"I am not repeating myself."

"Are you telling me I drew a sword the ghost of my mother?" the blonde demanded, because it sure sounded like that.

"Yes," the Bijū answered with a bored sigh.

"Great, that's just great." He opened the door and walked out of the room.

"You're taking it well," the Kyūbi said as the blonde walked down the hallway to Azula's room. "I thought you would have been yelling at me for holding that back or for letting you draw your sword."

"How am I supposed to feel, Kyūbi?" he asked, "I never met my mother, so I don't know what she was like."

"…Do you want me to tell you about her?" The fox offered.

He shook his head. "No. What's the point, really? Hearing about her from another person doesn't mean I'll be able to meet her."

"You said the same thing about your father."

"I was right then and I'm right now." The conversation stopped after that. He walked through the palace in silence, until he reached the door to Azula's room. Raising a hand, he knocked on the door.

It opened and he saw Azula. She had let her hair down from her bun and wore it in a high loose ponytail. She wore the dress that Ty Lee had bought for back at Kouzan. It was a cheongsam, the kind which went all the way down, but had slits in the sides that showed glimpses of her legs (which worked for her). The coloring was of a rose red, but the designs were both gold and crème. The design that was crème was that of a lotus flower blossoming at the bottom of the dress. The other design was a golden phoenix spreading its wings, ready to fly. The phoenix was placed on the upper side of the dress, off to the side, the wings encircling her bust. The two designs were connected by several threads that would gradually change from gold to crème and would also flow around the dress. The two were separated by a belt around her waist that held two sheathed daggers.

Naruto just looked at her. "Whoa," he thought to himself. It was the only thing he could even of think of.

"Well?" Azula asked, blushing hard. She had been embarrassed when Ty Lee had bought the dress and she was embarrassed now. If her father saw her in this dress, she was sure she would be dead.

"Congratulations, Azula," he finally managed to speak. "You have just redefined the phrase 'lady in the killer dress.'" She smirked, enjoying the compliment. It helped her feel less embarrassed. "What are the daggers for?"

"So, I don't have to Firebend while we're out," she answered. There was probably a good chance that someone would try to attack them and if she used Firebending, more people would be alerted.

She looked at Naruto. His attire was black. He wore a formal shirt that was fully buttoned up and tucked in, but had the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, leaving his forearms bare, save for a small tattoo on his wrist, a kanji. On his left pants leg was the symbol of the Fire Nation. But the color was not red, it was silver.

They looked at each other for a few seconds, creating an almost awkward air between them. "Shall we go?" Naruto finally asked, offering his arm. She nodded, took the offered arm, and the two of them walked away.

Down on the opposite end of the corridor, Zuko, Mai, and Ty Lee were watching from a corner. "Why are we doing this?" Mai asked.

"Oh, come on," Ty Lee said back. "You're not interested in how things will go?"

"I really don't want to be fried to a crisp." That was what would be awaiting them if Azula found out they were doing this.

"What about you, Zuko?" the acrobat asked the Scarred Dragon.

"Just leave them alone, Ty Lee," he told her. "You wouldn't want anyone watching you on your date, right?"

"You guys are no fun," she said with a pout.

---

"Welcome back to the Old Badgermole, Master Naruto," the waiter at the entrance greeted them. "If you follow me, I will take you to your table." He walked away and they followed.

"He seems to know you quite well," Azula whispered as they made their way through all the tables and people in the restaurant. She wasn't sure if people could tell who she was just by looking at her, but she also wasn't focusing on it.

"That's what happens when you come often and tip well," he whispered back.

"Here you are, sir and madam," the waiter announced as they arrived at the table. "May I assume you wish to have the usual order?" he asked the blonde.

He nodded. "And make it two orders." He gestured to Azula.

"Very good, sir," the waiter said before bowing and walking away.

They sat down at the table. "So, who put you up to it, Mai or Ty Lee?" he finally asked her, looking at the dress she was wearing.

She scowled at him, but also lightly blushed. "Ty Lee, at first, then Mai joined in." When the two decided something for her, she had no say in the matter.

He chuckled. "They mean well. They wouldn't be your friends anyway else." She didn't say anything, she just looked at him. "Azula, what's the matter?"

"Who are you?"

He was confused by her words. "What do you mean?"

"Who are you?" she repeated herself.

"I'm Naruto, your bodyguard."

"Maybe, but who are you?"

"What is this all about? You know who I am."

"No, I don't. Those people who were with the Avatar know you better than I do. Why won't you tell me who you are?"

He looked away. "…I came here for a new start, to turn over a new leaf." He turned his head back to her. "I came to these lands so I could leave my past behind me."

"But why do you have to hide things from me?"

"Because there are things, I don't want you to know." Some things were best left in the dark. Like his past, how many he had lost, and what he did when he lost control.

"Like the fact you thought you were a demon when you were a child?" she asked him, getting his attention right away.

"How did you…?" He was shocked that she knew that. He had kept that a secret from her and the others ever since he had come to this side of the planet.

"Back in the swamp, I saw a vision of you as a child. You were so scared of me." She looked straight into his eyes. "What happened to you?"

"It was a long time ago," he said shortly.

"Please, Naruto." She kept her gaze on him.

He was silent for a minute, but he couldn't keep her gaze. "There was an incident when I was born," he finally said. "As a result, the village lost its leader and many lives. Because I was born on the same day, they took it out on me."

"You were beaten, weren't you?"

"More times than you could count. I couldn't go to the hospital either; they would just kick me out." He gave a cynical laugh. "You learned how to set a broken arm and leg quickly when you go through that."

It was then the waiter came back. "Your meal, sir," he said before placing two dishes in front of them. Naruto nodded his thanks and tipped the waiter with five gold pieces. The waiter bowed again and walked away.

They were silent for a few seconds. "…I'm sorry I kept things from you, Azula," he said. "But I didn't want you to know about them."

"You don't trust me?" She was a little insulted that after three years, he didn't trust her.

"I want to protect you," he clarified. "It's my job after all."

"Protect me from what?" She wanted to know.

"Do you remember Itachi Uchiha and his partner?" She nodded. "I was trying to protect you from them."

"But why were they after you?" She didn't know the reason and she wanted to.

"…I can't answer that. But one of the main reasons I came here was to avoid them." He looked down at the dish in front of him. It looked delicious and he was ready to eat.

Azula gave her bodyguard a long look. "…Are you ever going to tell your secrets?"

His hand was reaching for a pair of chopsticks when she asked the question. "Maybe…one day," he said quietly. "But for now, let's enjoy this food." He picked up the chopsticks and began to eat his meal.

Azula followed his example. "This is quite good," she said after taking a bite.

He smiled. "The head cook will be pleased to know the princess of the Fire Nation enjoyed his food. He takes it very personally when someone doesn't like it or doesn't eat it. It's a popular theory that he's actually a Metalbender."

She scoffed at the notion. There was no such thing as a Metalbender. "That's nonsense."

"That's what I thought, until the day I saw a frying pan come flying out of the kitchen and nail someone who had insulted his food right on his head."

"Did you ever think that maybe the chief has good aim?"

He just gave her a look. "Azula, the time that passed between the head chef in the kitchen hearing the insult and the frying pan hitting the customer was about five seconds. Also add in the fact that you would have to make two turns to get to the kitchen from the main dining area."

The look on her face was one of disbelief. "You have got to be kidding," she protested.

"Trust me, it happened. I was having lunch with the guy who insulted the food."

---

Zuko tried to meditate but couldn't concentrate. He finally gave it up when he heard knocking on the door. "What is it?" he called out as he stood up.

"There's someone here to see you, sir," the soldier outside his room said. "She says that she knows you."

"Let her in." The door opened and Jin walked in.

"Hello…Lee," she said quietly, not making eye contact with him.

"Jin? What are you doing here?" After that one date they had, they didn't really see each other.

"I came to tell you something." She gave him a look. "…Are you really Prince Zuko?"

He sighed. "Yeah, I am. I'm sorry for lying."

"It doesn't matter now. You don't have a lot of time," she said with an urgent voice.

"What do you mean?"

"Before the incident today, there were a group of people who were talking about taking care of the problem the city has. I didn't think anything of it, but later today, the same group was there at the teashop. They said that they were ready to kill the royal whore and her guard dog."

"Azula and Naruto," he said, realizing what was going to happen. The two of them were going to be ambushed! "They left without any guards!" He started to swear as he reached for the Dao swords hanging off the wall next to the bed. "Guards!" he called out.

"Yes sir!" the guards barked out as the two of them came into the room.

"I want you to escort this woman back to her home. Then I want you to go to the nearest Fire Nation base and rouse as many soldiers as you can. If anyone questions your orders, tell them Prince Zuko ordered it. I want you to take them out into the Agrarian Zone," he ordered them. "Is that understood?"

"Yes sir!"

He ran pass Jin and the soldiers, going out the door and bolted down the corridor. He first went to the room that Mai and Ty Lee shared and banged on the door. "Zuko?" asked Ty Lee as she opened the door. "What do you want?"

"Grab Mai and meet me at the front of the Royal Palace!" he told her before running away again, leaving a confused acrobat. He ran down to the Sand Siblings' room and banged on their door too.

"What is the matter with you!?" Kankurō asked as he opened the door. "You couldn't have waited another minute? I was winning here!"

"Listen, the three of you have to come with me right now! No arguments, we have to go now!" he said when he saw that Kankurō was about to protest. He ran for the front of the palace where he saw that Mai and Ty Lee were already there.

"What is going on, Zuko?" Mai asked. She had never seen him act like this before (but then again, it had been three years).

"That's something I would like to know too," Temari said as she and her brothers joined them. The three of them had been playing a card game when Zuko banged on their door.

"Naruto and Azula are going to be ambushed. They're going to be attacked in the Agrarian Zone," he finally told them. "We have to go!" They all saw how that was bad. When Zuko went down the steps, they followed.

"Why were they going to the Agrarian Zone?" Gaara asked as they raced down the stairs.

"Azula wanted to go see a family member."

---

The two walked in silence in the Agrarian Zone. After finishing dinner, they took a carriage to the Inner Wall and then out to the Agrarian Zone. After coming to the general vicinity, they wanted, they left the carriage and walked. They soon came upon the hill where Lu Ten was buried. They walked up and looked at the single tree at the top. Azula looked at the tree in silence.

"…It's strange," she said. "When I first heard that Lu Ten had died, I only cared about if my uncle had continued the siege. But now…now it seems like I can't walk through Ba Sing Se without seeing something that reminds me of him." It was almost seeing a ghost that faded when her eyes look at him.

"I never met him," Naruto told her. "What was he like?"

"Much like Uncle, easy-going and cheerful." She smiled sadly. "He was carefree, but when he had to, he could show that he was the son of the Dragon of the West. He probably would've made a particularly good Fire Lord."

They stood in silence for another minute. "Come on," Naruto said. "Let's walk for a bit." She nodded. They walked down the hill and through the fields. Away from the city, everything was quiet. To the both of them, it was something of a relief. After a while, they stopped and looked up at the moon. "It's full," he commented.

"I wonder what tipped you off about it," she replied, some of the old sarcasm coming back into her voice.

He looked at her and smiled. "There it is. I was getting a little concerned about your lack of sarcasm."

She tried to scowl at him,but she couldn't hold it and began to laugh. He joined her and they spent a few minutes laughing. "Hey, Naruto," Azula said after they stopped laughing. "Have you ever heard the legend of Moon Fire?"

"No, I think I missed that one," he answered. "But then again, I'm surprised that the Fire Nation would even have a legend about the moon."

"It's not really spoken out loud anymore, not since my great-grandfather started this war. I learned about it at the Royal Fire Academy for Girls from the older students."

"What's it about?"

She took a step closer to him. "Legend has it that the Moon Fire is a gift given to women Firebenders by the Moon Spirit. Moon Fire was something that could only be used under the gaze of the moon. It was also not something that was to be used on the battlefield."

"Then what was it used for?"

She smirked and took another step towards him with a sway in her hips. "It was used to seduce men. When a woman used Moon Fire, she could make men walking by stop and watch her. And if she used it on the man she loved, he would not be able to take his eyes off her."

He smiled at her. "Princess Azula, if I didn't know any better, I would say you were trying to use Moon Fire on me."

She smirked and took another step towards him. "No. Supposedly, if you wanted to use Moon Fire, there was a dance you had to do. Besides, I don't think I need Moon Fire. Do you?"

His breath hitched. Standing underneath the light of the moon, Azula was gorgeous. Her golden eyes seemed to twinkle in the dark. Her pale skin glowed like alabaster and her black hair framed her face perfectly. Before he could answer, she took another step forward and kissed him full on the lips. He was caught off guard by it. Azula was not the one to just kiss you without warning (she wasn't the one to kiss you, period). He was reluctant for a few seconds, but then he surrendered and returned the kiss. They stood there, under the moonlight, with their eyes closed, sharing a kiss.

Azula was the first to break the kiss. She took a step back and looked at her bodyguard, a faint blush on her cheeks. Naruto just looked at her. "…No, I don't think you do," he finally said. She smiled at his answer. "Get down!" he suddenly cried, grabbing her arm and pulling her down to the ground. A large rock sailed harmlessly over their heads. Bringing their heads up, they saw that they were surrounded by a large group of Earth Kingdom citizens and guards.

"Kill the whore and her dog!" one of the citizens screamed out.

Naruto's eyes went flat and hard when he heard him. "Do you want me to gut that one?" he asked his princess.

"We're being ambushed here, Naruto," she replied, her hands going for the daggers.

"I know." And when the ambush party tried to attack them, he touched the tattoo on his wrist, muttered a quick "Kai!" and a small cloud of smoke appeared. When the smoke dissipated, his jian was in his hands. He sidestepped a war hammer strike and buried his fist in the wielder's stomach and sliced the man's head off.

Azula drew out the daggers, parried a sword strike with one and sliced opened the person's stomach, spilling his guts. Standing up, she stabbed another in the chest. Meanwhile, Naruto placed himself in an Airbending stance and kept moving around his opponent, getting around to their backs and stabbing them.

"Azula," he said as he dodged a rock spike. "We don't have time to be polite. Scorch the bastards!"

"My hands are kinda full here!" she shouted back.

"Then use your feet! You have two of them!"

She ducked under a swing of an axe and retaliated by plunging her daggers into her attacker's neck. Thinking that she was open, another charged at her, his sword held high. Azula noticed what was coming, raised her foot and bent a stream of fire from it, roasting the attacker.

More of the ambush party joined the fight, which forced Naruto and Azula to move around, that way they wouldn't be blocked in. Naruto moved through the attackers using Airbending and Waterbending. He dodged, sidestepped, deflected, blocked, and when the attacker was surprised for a moment; that was when he went for the kill.

Azula moved through them using flips, cartwheels and high jumps (she learned a few things from Ty Lee). While she did this, she used both her daggers and her Firebending to full use. Her hands danced with the daggers, slicing and stabbing the enemy, while her legs and feet sent streams of fire as well as fireballs out as well, burning her attackers. As the ambush went on, her movements got more and more acrobatic.

"Whoa," Naruto thought as he watched Azula bend backwards into a handstand in order to stab an opponent in the feet and then do the splits, bending two streams of fire, setting two different attackers ablaze. "I didn't know she could do that. When did she get that flexible?"

"Kit, get your mind out of the gutter and back into the fight!" the Kyūbi chastise him. Then he took a look at her "She does have a nice ass to look at though, I'll admit that."

"Hey! If I can't ogle her, then you can't either!" he shouted at the fox before returning to the fight.

"Agni," Azula thought as she took a look at Naruto. "He looks like he belongs on the battlefield. It's almost…intoxicating to watch him." She shook her head hard. "Not the time for that, Azula! Pay attention!"

On the outskirts of the battle, everyone saw a fireball go up. But it wasn't the blue fire Azula wielded, it was an ordinary flame. While everyone's attention was on that, sand burst out of the ground and cleared a lane in the circle surrounding the two.

"Are we interrupting?" Gaara asked as he, his siblings, Zuko, Mai, and Ty Lee joined them.

"When did you get a sense of humor?" Naruto asked back lightly.

"Now is not the time," Kankurō told him as he revealed his new puppet, Sasori (Scorpion).

"Are you two okay?" Zuko asked Azula and Naruto.

"We're fine, Zuzu," Azula told him.

"You sound aggravated," Mai noted.

She was. "These rock-heads couldn't have waited five more minutes before ambushing us!?"

"Ooooh, details later," Ty Lee said. She smelt something juicy to talk and gossip about.

"Ladies!" shouted Temari. "Focus please!" She readied her fan. Mai readied her knives and Zuko drew his swords.

They turned the tables on the ambush. The Sand Siblings worked in tandem, Kankurō used his new puppet to disable, Temari used her fan to send them flying, and Gaara used his sand to crush them. Mai would throw her knives and Zuko would attack when the knives hit. Azula and Ty Lee worked together using their acrobatics to disable, kill, and flambé. Naruto worked alone in the fight, but that was because if he need help, all he had to do was create a Kage Bunshin. His Tsuinken was a great help in taking enemies down.

Soon enough, the ambush was over, but not in the ambushers' favor. "That was boring," Mai stated as she put her knives away.

"But it's still over," Ty Lee said cheerfully. The attackers lay on the ground all around them, either dead or fully paralyzed.

"Damn, not enough time to fully test Sasori," Kankurō muttered. There were still some things he wanted to test out.

"Oh, relax. You still have that spar with Naruto," Temari told him as she folded her fan.

Naruto looked at the bodies of either dead or unconscious ambushers. "…This was too easy."

"What do you mean?" Azula asked him.

"This ambush, there were only civilians who only had a basic knowledge of weaponry or Earthbending and low-ranking guards. Why would they try to ambush us if they knew we could beat them with time? Not unless…" His eyes went wide. "Not unless they were nothing but fodder! This wasn't the ambush!"

Holes in the ground popped open and out flew more people. However, the difference was that these people were of high ranks in the military and of the nobility and that they were prepared for this. "I will admit," a low-ranking general with an expensive armor said, "we weren't expecting the others to show up. But it showed us what they could do. And now, we will destroy you. KILL THEM!"

They charged, but unlike the last one (which charged like a stampede), this charge was coordinated. Those wielding pole weapons went for Ty Lee, Azula, and the Sand Siblings. The ones wielding hammers and axes went for Kankurō, Mai, and Zuko. The ones that wielded swords went for Naruto, Temari, Ty Lee, Azula, and Zuko. And the Earthbenders separated them doing what they did best.

For Naruto and his group, things got both worse and complicated. They knew how to fight against the ones that came at them, but they were many. They also had to deal with salvos of rocks, earth columns, and stone spikes from the Earthbenders, who were controlled and precise. Every time they tried to regroup, the Earthbenders would separate by bending rock lines at them, forcing them back.

They started to work against those who fought them. Gaara started to use his sand to break the shafts of the pole weapons. While Azula went after them with fireballs and dagger strikes, Ty Lee got in close and blocked their chi, disabling them.

Kankurō made sure that both he and Sasori stayed out of reach of the hammer and axe swings while Zuko and Mai got in close and took them out. Zuko also dealt with the swordsmen, as did Temari. He used his Dao swords, and she used her fan. When they were dazed, Naruto moved in and killed them. But despite what they tried to; they were tiring.

"Kami take it!" Kankurō swore as he ducked under an axe swing. "This is going nowhere. We're outnumbered here!"

"Not a problem," Naruto replied. He brought his hands into a handseal.

But before he could do anything, the leader shouted, "Now! Do it!" The Earthbenders banded together and, as one, bent a wall of stone up from the earth, separating Azula from the others. It towered over them, too tall for the shinobi (and former shinobi) to climb over quickly.

"Bind her!" a voice on the other side of the wall ordered. They heard Firebending, weapons clashing, and then the sound of something knocking someone out.

"Zuko, make a hole!" Naruto ordered as he tried to fight his way to the wall. Zuko steadied himself and projected an image of himself in his mind. Thankfully, during his time in Ba Sing Se, he hadn't slacked on this kind of training. He was able to split himself into his yin and yang. He then brought them back together, reforming them into himself.

"Naruto, get down!" As Naruto fell to the ground, he took a deep breath and then breathed lightning. It tore through both the attackers and the wall, blasting a good chunk out of it (while the wall was tall, it wasn't really thick). The end result was a hole in the wall that you could easily step through. That was when they saw an unconscious Azula, her hands cuffed together by rocks, by the edge of a cliff that was not there before. The Earthbenders had bent a large crack in the earth; it was so deep that you could not see the bottom of it.

The Earth Kingdom noble who was holding Azula turned to see Naruto standing at the hole in the wall. He smirk, turned back around and, borrowing strength from the earth, hurled the unconscious princess off the cliff.

"AZULA!" screamed Naruto, getting the attention of the others. He ran towards the edge and threw himself after her. His grip on his jian loosened and the sword was suddenly yanked out of his hand by gravity, falling into the abyss.

"What an idiot," one of the men said with a snort. He was suddenly killed when sand covered his entire head and crushed it.

"Gaara, can you reach him?!" Temari asked as she joined her brother at the edge while the others came through the hole and attacked the ambushers.

"They're falling too fast! My sand won't reach them!" he answered. He and everyone else turned their attention back to the enemy and attacked with fury. Even Ty Lee went for the kill, using her chi blocking abilities to stop the heart.

While they tried to rip those who ambushed them to shreds, Naruto was falling down after Azula. He angled his body so he could faster and reached her sooner. "I have her!" he thought in triumph as he grabbed hold of her and pulled her into a hug-like embrace.

"Great going, kit," the Kyūbi said. "NOW WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO?!" They were still falling to their deaths.

He looked at the cliff walls. Despite gaining better control over his chakra, he knew that he would not be able to land safely on the walls. If he tried to do that, there was an incredibly good chance of losing his grip on Azula. Also, if that didn't happen, the added weight would slow him down when he tried to run up the wall. "I only have one option!" he said as he bit his thumb.

"You realize that if you do that, they'll be able to find you, right?" the fox asked him. There was a reason his Jinchūriki hadn't used that jutsu in three years.

"We really don't have a choice here. It's either them or splatting. And I don't feel like splatting, do you?" He went through the handseals. It had been more than three years since he had used this jutsu, but he could still remember what to do. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Technique)!" he cried out, holding his hand out in front of him.

Chakra poured out from his hand and created a large cloud of smoke. Readjusting so that his feet were downwards instead of his head, he fell through the smoke and landed on a familiar head.

"What in the name of the Great Toad Sage is this!?" Gamabunta, chief of the toads of Mount Myōboku, roared as he held onto the cliff sides. "Jiraiya, where are you? Is this your idea of a joke!?"

"Long time no see, Chief Toad," Naruto said, holding the unconscious Azula in his arms like a bride. She was still unconscious, but now she was safe in his arms.

Gamabunta froze. He hadn't heard that voice in three years. "Naruto, is that you?"

"Who else would summon you while falling to a death not wanted?" the blonde demanded before looking back up. "Listen, since you're here, can you help me? I need to stop a fight before my friends get killed."

The giant toad was silent for a few seconds. "Very well, but you and I are going to have a talk later," he said. "What exactly did you have in mind?"

Naruto smirked. "Shock and awe," he answered. The chief of the toads smirked as well. Shifting his weight, he launched himself upwards.

The fight was not going well for Zuko and the others. Despite aiming to kill, they were tiring. Sasori had taken a beating and was moving sluggishly, since a pike managed to nick Kankurō's left arm, making it painful to move and leaving only his right arm to operate the puppet. Mai was on her last two knives, which she kept in hand. Ty Lee was slowing down. She couldn't keep doing her acrobatic moves. Zuko's Dao swords had been destroyed when a hammer strike knocked them out of his hands and a stone spike shattered them. Temari's fan had some holes in it, so she was forced to fold it up and use it like a club. The only one who didn't look tired was Gaara. He kept using his sand defend the others.

"I don't think we're going to last much longer," Kankurō said as he tried to steer Sasori to another attacker.

"Thanks for stating the obvious," Mai said as she plunged a dagger into her opponent's head.

"Focus, Mai," Zuko told her as he bent fireball after fireball at the enemy.

It was then a large shadow fell over them, blocking out the moon. "What is that!?" Ty Lee screamed, near hysteric.

"That is a toad," Gaara said as he looked up to see what it was. "We'll be fine."

"How are we fine? That thing is huge!"

"I know that particular toad."

Gamabunta landed on the wall, demolishing it (it was big, he is bigger) and squashing those who were still on the other side. The battle completely stopped as they stared at the giant toad. "Well, kid, what do you want to do with them?" Gamabunta asked the blonde on his head.

"First things first," Naruto said. He looked at one of the nobles. "That one threw Azula off the cliff. Extend him the same courtesy, please."

The toad opened his mouth and shot his long tongue at the noble, who tried to run and failed. He caught him and lifted him off of the ground. He struggled to get out of the tongue's grip but couldn't even move. "You can't do this to me! Do you not realize who I am?!" he demanded.

Neither Naruto nor Gamabunta said anything. Gamabunta just let go of the noble, letting him fall like a stone and nowhere close to either cliff side. His screams grew more distant the further he fell, until they could no longer hear him. "Anyone else want to follow him!?" Gamabunta demanded, glaring down at the rest of the ambush party. They responded by dropping any weapons they had and bowing to the giant toad. "I thought not."

"Oh look, the cavalry," Naruto said as he looked from atop Gamabunta's head. Reinforcements were indeed coming but they were rather particularly late. He leapt down to the ground and landed in front of Zuko. "Zuko, get her back to the Royal Palace." He told the Scarred Dragon, giving him Azula. "I'll send word to the Dai Li to have a protection detail waiting for you." He made a clone, which sprinted towards the Inner Wall.

"Where are you going?" Zuko asked.

"To have a talk with him," he answered, pointing to the giant toad behind him. He leapt back on top of Gamabunta's head, who then hopped away. The leaps he took were large and within a few seconds, he had disappeared.

"Prince Zuko, sir." The two guards who were at his door greeted him with salutes as they stopped in front of him.

"You're late," he said.

"Our apologies, sir, but there were delays when we reached the base," The first guard quickly explained.

Zuko nodded, accepting the answer for now. "I want these people to be thrown into jail. Their fate will be decided later." He gestured the Earth Kingdom citizens. The soldiers saluted and went to work. Zuko and the others started to walk back to the Inner Wall, a small detachment of soldiers following them.

---

They had finally stopped near the mountains in the Agrarian Zone. "So? What did you want to talk about?" Naruto asked as he stood on the toad's nose, looking him in the eyes.

"You know damn well what I want to talk about," Gamabunta all but growled.

"Fine, then I'll get right to the point. I'm not going back."

"Kid, you're in danger," the toad told him. "Konoha is the safest place for you."

"I've been in danger for the last three years and yet I survived," he retorted. "Besides, I want nothing to do with Konoha. It was a prison then and it would still be a prison now."

"There are people who miss you, Naruto!"

He barked out a harsh laugh. "Now I know you're lying. No one would miss me. If anything, I'd think that they would glad I left." He was sure of it.

"That's enough!" Gamabunta declared. "There are people who care for you! Do you know how long Jiraiya searched for you after you escaped? How many times Tsunade sent out teams of shinobi to look for you? How many times the Konoha Eleven—"

"SHUT UP!" Naruto unexpectedly roared. "IF JIRAIYA CARED ABOUT ME, HE WOULD'VE BEEN THERE FOR ME WHEN I WAS LITTLE AND SCARED! IF TSUNADE CARED ABOUT ME, SHE NEVER WOULD'VE AGREED TO THAT RIDICULOUS PLAN! IF THE KONOHA ELEVEN ACTUALLY CARED ABOUT ME, THEY WOULD'VE NEVER DOUBTED ME AND CALLED ME A JOKE! THEY NEVER CARED ABOUT ME!"

"YES, THEY DID!" Gamabunta roared back. "THEY HAVE ALWAYS CARED ABOUT YOU!"

"STOP LYING TO ME! JUST STOP IT!" He knew that they never cared about him and neither did the Hokage. They just wanted him because Konoha was the only one who didn't have a Jinchūriki. He was sick of it. He just wanted to be left alone! Was that too much to ask for!?

The two of them were silent for a couple of minutes. "You're still in danger here, kid," Gamabunta finally said. "Jiraiya got word that the Akatsuki had started hunting you again."

"Itachi and Kisame found me already," the blonde replied. "I gave them a warning not to come after me." It was a bluff, but the toad didn't need to know that little tidbit of information.

"What?"

"Don't give me that, Gamabunta," he said. "I know for a fact that the old hag would send any information she had on to the Super Pervert, and I also know that he would pass that information onto you. That way, you would be prepared in case I ever summoned you. It's just the way they would operate."

Gamabunta said nothing in reply. He just grunted and blew smoke. They stayed like for a few minutes, in the silence of the night. "That was a pretty girl you were holding. Is she your girlfriend?" he finally asked.

"She's the Princess of the Fire Nation. You know that already and you also know that I'm her bodyguard." Why was he asking questions he already knew the answer too? Was it just to annoy him?

"You still didn't answer my question," the toad replied with a smirk.

"…Well, we were on a date tonight," he admitted. "That was before we were ambushed."

"Way to go, kid. How many have you gone on?"

"Only this one," he answered. "Usually, any girl I meet tries to jump my bones, screaming that they want my children."

"You have Fangirls?" Gamabunta asked in surprise before bellowing out with laughter. "Oh, that is rich! Who would have ever thought that the dead-last would get Fangirls?" He knew that if Jiraiya was here, he would be laughing too.

"…You're just proving my point," Naruto said quietly. It was that kind of stuff that showed they didn't really think of him the way they thought they did.

The laughter died from the Toad Boss's lip almost instantly. "You're adamant about this, aren't you?"

"I'm not a kid anymore, Gamabunta. I can take care of myself. I have a life here. I have friends here. Hell, I have enemies here. Do you realize how refreshing it is to have enemies that aren't related in anyway shape or form to the village and are completely your own?"

"…Yeah, yeah I can."

"I'm not going to let the village ruin what I have here." He had earned what he got on this side of the planet and he wasn't going to let anyone take all that away from him.

"And yet, you're okay with being with the Kazekage and his family," Gamabunta noted. It seemed like a contradiction to him.

"He's a friend," he retorted. "Besides, he's on vacation."

"…How did you find out about the Block?" That was something that been bugging the clan ever since they discovered they couldn't Reverse-Summon him to Mt. Myōboku.

"How do you think I found out?" He looked the toad straight in the eye. "Gamabunta, I want your oath that both you and the Toad Clan will leave me alone from now on."

"Kid—"

"I want your oath, Gamabunta," the blonde cut him off. "If you don't and you try to Reverse-Summon me, I will burn your home to the ground and I will kill everyone there."

"You wouldn't dare. You wouldn't kill Gamakichi or Gamatatsu."

"Everyone there," he repeated, completely serious.

"…Very well. You have my oath."

"Thank you." He jumped off the toad's head and onto the ground.

"You're right, kid," Gamabunta said. "You have changed." He disappeared in a huge cloud of smoke. Naruto simply looked at the quickly dissipating smoke and walked away.

---

"Well, that was interesting to watch," Kisame remarked as they walked down the street. "I don't think I ever seen a date go bad that spectacularly."

"You're forgetting that one time in Iwa," Itachi replied.

"Oh for Kami's sake, not this again," he groaned. "I've told you before. I had never known that woman. She was drunk and almost incoherent. Besides, she was flirting with you."

"We ended up in a massive fight with all the men of that town because of that woman. Then we had to run away from the women of the town in our underwear," the Uchiha told his partner.

"Don't remind me, please."

After informing their leader about Naruto, Itachi's and Kisame's orders were to stay back and observe him. They had lost track of him in the Si Wong desert, so they decided to follow the Avatar's group. While they dealt with the drill, the two members snuck into the city. They kept their distance but still kept an eye out on them. They were surprised when they saw the Kazekage was still alive but was even more surprising was when they watched the fight in the Crystal Catacombs and saw that Shù Yè was indeed Naruto.

"You have to admit, the kid has gotten very good," Kisame noted. He had watched the blonde fight and he was a little impressed by what he saw.

"Indeed, but he is still learning," Itachi said. "He never saw that lightning strike, nor did he notice our presence in the Catacombs."

"Report," the voice of Akatsuki's leader rang in their minds. They kept walking, making their way back to the inn they were staying at. When they reached their rooms and sat down on the floor, they started to concentrate, closing their eyes. When they reopened them, the image of the Akatsuki's leader stood before them. "Report," he repeated.

They quickly told him everything they had seen after tracking the Avatar's group. "It was something to see, really," Kisame told him. "He's quite the little trickster."

The leader said nothing. He just stared at the two. "…What of the Konoha shinobi?"

"We are uncertain about what happened to them after they were taken away," Itachi said. "But we have debated and have concluded that Naruto will have imprisoned them and then manipulate them into leaving. As far as we can tell, he will be heading back to the Fire Nation soon. Are we to follow?"

"No," he answered. "If you follow him, eventually he will notice you. You are to return to the Elemental Countries via seal."

"So, we're just going to leave the kid here?" Kisame asked, confused about the leader's decision.

"Do not worry, Kisame. Sooner or later, whether of his own violation or not, the Kyūbi will come to us." They couldn't exactly say but it seemed the ghostly image of the Akatsuki's leader was smirking.

---

When Azula awoke, she lunged forward with fire in her hands. "Take it easy, Azula," Zuko told her, standing at the edge of her bed. He had stayed in the room, waiting for her to wake so they could talk.

"What happened?" she asked, dispelling the fire. "The last thing I remember was…a sense of falling."

"You were thrown off the edge of the cliff and…Naruto saved you," he said, deciding to omit the part of the giant toad. "He's standing guard outside; in case you're wondering.

"Well, that is his job." She looked at her silent brother. "What's the matter, little Zuzu?" she asked, using the nickname she knew he hated.

"We need to talk, Azula," he said, completely serious. "Somebody set up that ambush. Who do you think arranged it?"

"Oh, I have an idea," she all but snarled. There was only one person who could manipulate people on that kind of scale into trying to kill her.

"Yāo Jing," he said, voicing her thoughts.

"Yeah," she agreed. "How did you figure it out?"

"Those reinforcements I had sent for arrived later then they should have been. The guards told me that they were delayed. The officers said they had to double-check their story. That should never have happened. If any soldier comes in with orders from the Royal Family, they're to be carried out immediately. The only reason I can think of being stonewalled like that was Yāo Jing got to the officers first, which means she didn't come up with this idea on the spot."

"She's probably been waiting for this chance." The two siblings remembered what she had said in the throne.

"I saw a chance and took it."

Both Zuko and Azula realized that she wasn't exactly talking about the Avatar and that she was still seeing chances. "Azula," Zuko began. "We both know that you and I disagree on a lot of things, but one of the things we can agree on is that Yāo Jing would be happy to see us dead. So, from now on, when it concerns her, we watch each other's back." He held out his hand. "What say you?"

Azula looked at her brother. "Agreed," she said, taking his hand.

(Location: Konoha)

Tsunade sat at her desk, looking out through the window. She was taking a small break from her work and reached for the sake (yet). "Lady Tsunade," Shizune said, coming through the door and into the office. "The teams from the Bending Countries are back."

She turned back to her desk. "Send them in," she ordered. Shizune nodded and walked out the door again. A few seconds later, Guy, Asuma, and Kurenai came in with their teams behind them. They wore an expression of defeat on their faces. Tsunade looked at them in silence. "…What happened?" she finally asked.

Asuma stepped forward. "The mission…failed, Lady Tsunade. The Avatar has been killed and the Earth Kingdom has fallen," he said to her.

"What of the Kazekage?" she asked almost immediately. If the head of Sunagakure was dead on their watch, they were going to be facing huge problems.

Guy walked forward. "This was found in my headband," he said, putting a piece of paper in front of her. She picked up the piece of paper and read it:

To the old hag

Gaara is fine. He will not be a prisoner. In fact, I think it's safe to say that he and his siblings will become guests of the Fire Nation. After all, he's on vacation.

Naruto

She read the paper once more before crumpling it up. "I want a full report from each and every one of you," she said, dismissing them. They nodded and left, leaving the Hokage alone.

(Location: Ba Sing Se)

Iroh sat in his cell. It had been over a day since Naruto had visited him. He could that it was afternoon due to the amount of light shining from the window. The door opened and two Dai Li agents stepped inside. "What is it? Did my niece already call for my death?" Iroh asked with a little humor in his voice.

The agents said nothing. One of them came forward and placed a bundle of clothing next to him. "Put this on. Knock on the door when you are done," he said. The two agents walked out of the cell and closed the door.

Iroh took the bundle and opened it, revealing white clothes, mourning clothes. He wasn't quite sure where this was going but he put on the clothes. When he was done, he knocked on the cell door. "Follow us," the agent said, opening the door.

They escorted Iroh out of the dungeons and out of the palace. They walked him down the steps and into a carriage. The carriage took him through the city, to the Inner Wall and then out to the Agrarian Zone. When it finally came to a stop, the place outside the window was familiar. The door opened and Iroh stepped out to see Azula, Ty Lee, Mai, Zuko, and Naruto as well as a small contingent of soldiers standing beneath a familiar hill. The soldiers wore formal armor while the others wore mourning clothes (Naruto wore black instead of white).

"Welcome, Uncle," Azula greeted him with genuine politeness and kindness in her voice.

"What is this all about, Azula?" he asked her.

"Take a look." He looked at where she pointed. At the top of the hill, at the base of the tree, was a statue of Lu Ten in a meditative position. His eyes were closed, his hands were cupped, and he had a content smile on his face. They all walked up the hill in silence, their feet walking the steps of a slow, formal march.

As they stopped and stood in front of the statue, Zuko spoke. "The Fire Nation has done what no one has thought possible, it has conquered Ba Sing Se. But instead of celebrating our victory over the Earth Kingdom, we are here to remember and honor those who've fallen in battle during the Siege of Ba Sing Se, especially my cousin, Lu Ten. It is both my sister's and my wish that whenever people will see this statue, they will not remember the victory but the soldiers we lost to achieve victory."

"Uncle," Azula said with a surprisingly gentle tone in her voice. "Will you ignite the flame?"

Iroh said nothing. He just walked forward, bending a small orb of fire in his hand. He placed the orb in the statue's cupped hands. It took hold and turned into a small fire, not something that was used for battle, but to provide light and warmth.

"We remember and thank those who have served the Fire Nation," His niece said for all those on the hill to hear.

"We remember and thank." The soldiers repeated, bowing their heads to the statue. A sorrowful tune began to play, it was a tune that every soldier knew and they sung along with it. "Leaves from the vine, falling so slow. Like fragile, tiny shells, drifting in the foam. Little soldier boy, come marching home," they sang in a slow voice.

"Brave soldier boy, comes marching home," Iroh finished, tears falling freely from his eyes.

---

Night had fallen. After the small ceremony, Iroh was brought back to the prison. There had been no fuss or attempts to escape. The Dragon of the West went peacefully. The rest of the day was spent by everyone going about their business, readying things to go home before finally retiring to sleep.

Naruto slept lightly in his room. He had chosen the room next to Azula so he knew she would be safe. When he heard the door to his room, he was awake and slowly reaching for the knife he had strapped behind the bedframe. "Naruto?" called out Azula.

He relaxed, bringing his hand away from the knife. "Can't sleep?" he asked, raising his head to look at her, seeing her silhouetted against the door. She nodded. He lifted the covers slightly. She walked over and got in, laying her head against his chest. "Good night," he said, his arms looping around her and holding her closer.

She lay there in content, listening to his heartbeat. While she was frustrated that he kept secrets from her and wouldn't tell her about his past, she was glad that what she felt for the blonde was more than a crush and now, she knew it for a fact.

She loved him. She loved her bodyguard. She loved Naruto Uzumaki.

End

Author's Note: Thank you for all the reviews you've sent me.

As of this chapter, the poll regarding Zanpakutō is now closed. I will go forward with the idea of original Zanpakutō. Release incantations, Shikai and Bankai abilities as well as Shikai and Bankai designs have already been figured out. Thank you for voting.

Yes, both the Konoha teams and the Akatsuki are gone. I had to bring in the Akatsuki briefly before sending them back. Otherwise, readers would start wondering about how they got back to the Elemental Countries. Also, the way I figure it, even an organization like the Akatsuki has those days that you just don't want to remember.

For those of you who are going to say that Naruto couldn't summon Gamabunta because he seal the ability away, I want you to go back to chapter 4 and read the part in the Hokage's office carefully. Also for those of you who are going to complain that Naruto wouldn't kill Gamakichi or Gamatatsu, I want you to remember that he left his past behind and doesn't want it coming back. If he has to kill every toad to get his point across, he would do it.

As for Bosco, not exactly what you were expecting, huh? The one who got closest to what I was thinking was the reviewer Dragonskyt. Yes, the Memori Ishoku is an original jutsu (of which, I'm kinda proud of).

So it's back to the Fire Nation, but Zuko's meeting with the Royal Flaming Asshole (he is one and we all know it) will go a little differently. There will also be something new as well.

I'll see you all next chapter!