Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or The Last Airbender.
Bodyguard of Azula
Chapter 24: Relaxation and Issues
"Talking"
"Thinking"
"Bijū/spirit talking"
"Bijū/spirit thinking"
(Location: Fire Nation)
The ferry was pulled through the water by a sea lion. The passengers on the ferry were Zuko, Azula, Ty Lee, Mai, and Kori. Naruto, Gaara, Temari, and Kankurō were sitting up on the roof of the ferry like it was a completely normal thing. "I'm so excited to spend the weekend at Ember Island," Ty Lee told them all. "It's going to be great to hang out on the beach and do nothing."
"I hope so," Kori said. "I've always heard about Ember Island. I just hoped it lives up to the reputation." She didn't want to be disappointed.
"We're being sent away on a forced vacation," Zuko said as he looked at the sea. "I feel like a child." He hadn't been a child since his father burned and banished him.
"Lighten up," Azula told him. "So, Dad wants to meet with his advisors alone, with no one else around, don't take it personally." Secretly, however, she felt the same way.
"If that's the case, why isn't he taking the vacation?" Kankurō asked them from above.
"The Royal Flaming Asshole doesn't take a vacation," Naruto told him with a casual tone in his voice. Zuko and Azula shot him a look, which he promptly ignored. "If I didn't know better, I would think he sleeps on that throne."
"You know, I thought that psycho Yāo Jing would've come along," Temari said. If they had to go, then didn't the bastard sister go with them had to as well?
"She was planning to do that, at first."
When she heard those words, she had a suspicion. "What did you do?"
"I might've said that if she came along, she would end being buried alive," he answered like it was nothing.
"Same as ever, Naruto," Gaara noted. The blonde just smiled.
"Your family has a house on Ember Island, right?" Kori asked Azula. She had thought the princess had mentioned it before, but she wasn't sure about it.
"We used to come every summer when we were kids," she replied. There were good memories associated with that place. But there were also sad ones as well.
"That must have been fun."
"That was a long time ago," Zuko told her. "The last time we were there was when Naruto was rescued."
"I have fond memories of that place, and it was rather helpful that Iroh was also present," the blonde admitted. "Although, I don't think I'll be able to look at your closet the same way again, Azula."
"Don't remind me," she replied, blushing. She could still remember him in the closet, wearing only his borrowed swim trucks. Had that incident occurred today, it would've gone a whole different way.
"What happened?" Temari asked him.
"It involves a tidal wave and hormonal teenage girls," Naruto told her. That was all he'd say.
"Oh, come on! You have to tell us more than that," Kankurō pleaded. That was something that just demanded more details.
"No, we don't," Azula and Naruto said in unison. They looked at each other and looked away, blushing faintly.
"That would've been cute if it wasn't so painful to watch," the Sand Siblings thought in unison as they watched the two try and not look at each other. "Sand dunes have moved faster than those two."
The ferry pulled into the dock. Everyone aboard saw several big houses, but they pulled up to the smallest house there. Standing on the dock, waiting for them were the twins, Lo and Li. "Welcome to Ember Island, kids," they said in unison.
All they could do was look at the house behind them with disappointment. "Not one word," Gaara warned his brother as he was about to open his mouth. He promptly closed it.
The twins led them up the stairs and into the house. "It smells like old lady in here," Zuko whispered to Mai as they walked in and looked around.
"Gee, I wonder why," she replied with full-on sarcasm.
Ty Lee, Kori, and Gaara saw a painting of two girls posing in swimsuits. "Who are these two beautiful women?" Ty Lee asked. She felt a little self-conscious just looking at it.
"Can't you tell? It's Lo/Li and me," the old twins said in unison, doing the same pose. When Zuko saw that, he almost threw up (the other guys had better gag reflexes). Ty Lee didn't feel so self-conscious anymore.
Figuring that they had seen enough of the living room, the twins led them into the bedroom. "Ooh, I love the seashell bedspread," Ty Lee commented as she fell onto one of the beds.
"Are you serious?" Mai asked her. "It looks like the beach threw up all over it." Not in a good or tasteful way, either.
"It's not that bad," Kori commented, looking at it all. She might've felt a little bit of the same, but she was trying to be polite about it. "We don't have something like this back in Yu Dao."
"We know you're upset that you were forced to come here for the weekend," Li told them.
"But Ember Island is a magical place. Keep an open mind," Lo said.
"Give it a chance."
"And it can help understand yourselves and each other," the twins spoke as one.
Lo took a rock from the table. "The beach has a special way…"
"…Of smoothing even the most ragged edges." Li took the rock from her sister.
Azula yawned in boredom. "Azula, be nice," Naruto told her.
The twins clapped their hands and disrobed, showing swimsuits underneath. "Time to hit the beach!" they said together. Mai covered Zuko's eyes so he didn't have to see that. Everyone else just looked vaguely disgusted.
Team Avatar decided to take a break in a secluded hot spring. "Aang, I know swimming is fun and all," Toph said. "But do you really think you should be exposing yourself like that? Cover up."
"What?" Aang asked her as he swam around with Momo. "I'm wearing trunks." It wasn't like he was naked or anything.
"I know. It's your tattoos I'm worried about. What if someone sees you?"
"There are walls all around us," Katara told her. "It's completely safe."
Aang heard water rushing behind him. Turning his head, he saw that water was rushing down a tunnel. When he saw this, he leapt in with glee, taking Momo with him. While the lemur was screeching in panic, he was cheering.
Meanwhile, two Fire Nation guards were lounging by their post. "This has got to be the most boring job in the Fire Nation," one guard complied. "Nothing ever happens."
"WHOA!" They heard someone shout from behind them. Hearing a splash in the water, they turned to see who it was. "Let's go again," Aang told Momo as they broke the water's surface. They hopped back the cliff, unaware of the two guards who saw him. The two guards were shaking in their boots.
"The Avatar's alive!" the first guard exclaimed. "We better send a messenger hawk to the Fire Lord." He ran over to the cage that held the hawk and opened it. The hawk hopped on his arm and waited as he placed a scroll with a black ribbon in its case. It flew off with the message.
"A black ribbon message," the second guard said. "This is so exciting."
Naruto and Azula led the others down to the beach. "This is going to be fun," Ty Lee cheered. Nothing but sun, sea, and boys awaited her. She was going to enjoy it.
"Punishment is what it is," Naruto replied. He was the only one who wasn't wearing swimwear, just a pair of pants and a shirt. He must've done something to make Ozai mad enough to order him to come here.
"Stop complaining, Naruto," Azula told him sharply. "You're here, get over it."
"Yeah, yeah, I get it," he replied, still moody about it all.
"You might actually enjoy this vacation, Naruto," Gaara told the blonde. He wore a small gourd at his side due to the fact bringing the actual gourd would've looked ridiculous. But this way, he could still enjoy this.
They continued to make their way onto the beach and then through it. Once they found a suitable spot (Azula was about to crush a couple of kids' sandcastle, but she felt Naruto's gaze on her back and decided not to), they began to unpack. "Where is my blanket?" Azula asked as she looked around for it. She got her answer when she saw Naruto rolling it out for her.
"Here you are, my lady," he said in a tone that managed to sound both formal and mischievous at the same time.
She lay down on the blanket. "Thank you." Most teenagers who saw this were a little jealous (the boys and the girls had different reasons).
Meanwhile, Ty Lee and Kori had attracted guys themselves. "Hey, you need some help unpacking?" one teenager asked Ty Lee, having become instantly enamored with her.
"Sure. Thanks." She handed him her bag, making him collapse. He threw out random things in the bag until he found a blanket and pulled it out.
Azula watched this happen. "You know, if I didn't have you, I think I would be jealous of that," she told Naruto.
"You flatter me."
Ty Lee sat down on the blanket and looked up, squinting. "Could you move a little bit more to the…?" The teenager got the point and stood in front of the sun. "Perfect." She winked at him.
"Do you need help?" another guy asked Kori.
"Um…I'm good, thanks," she told him, putting her blanket down herself. Unlike the acrobat, she didn't like guys hanging around for that kind of stuff. She could do it herself. He walked away with a defeated air about him.
"Why did you brush him off like that?" Ty Lee asked her, completely ignoring the guy giving her shade. "Didn't the guys come after you back at Yu Dao?"
"I don't know," she replied with a shrug. "I didn't really pay attention to them."
"What did you do with all that time?"
"I trained."
"That's it?" The acrobat couldn't believe that was all she could've done.
"Yeah, pretty much."
Both Kankurō and Temari overheard the last part of that conversation from where they sat. "If that girl and Lee ever meet, we had better make sure they are never alone," Temari told her brother as she lightly fanned herself (with a small fan, mind you, not her battle fan).
"Seconded," he agreed as he lay on his back, fiddling with some extra parts from his puppets. "Although, would Kori be open to the idea of wearing those hideous spandexes all the time?"
Temari winced at Kankuro's suggestion. "Good point."
Zuko and Mai were sitting underneath an umbrella together. Noticing a seashell nearby, he reached over and picked it up. "Here, this is for you," he told Mai.
"Why would I want that?" she asked.
"I saw it, and I thought it was pretty. Don't girls like stuff like this?"
"Maybe stupid girls," She told him with a scoff, looking the other way.
He threw the shell away. "Never mind, forget it."
"That was harsh," Kankurō commented.
"Oh come on, Mai doesn't like stuff like that and we all know it," Temari replied.
"At least he's trying," Gaara said. This all made them look discreetly at both Naruto and Azula. She was relaxing and he was keeping a subtle watch. Both were trying to avoid eye contact with the other.
"Have they even talked about the fiasco of a date?" Kankurō asked. That night in Ba Sing Se wasn't something they were going to forget anytime soon.
"I don't think so. It seems that Naruto is still slow on the uptake in some areas."
"Why is that a relief?" He didn't know why, but he felt relieved.
"Probably because we found a small part of the Naruto we knew is still there," Temari told him.
He looked over to Gaara. "This is why she's the smartest out of us three."
"I've never said otherwise," the Kazekage replied.
The seashell that Zuko had thrown landed next to another teenager. He turned around to see who threw it and saw Ty Lee. When she played with her hair, he saw it in slow motion. Grabbing the shell, he zipped over to her and offered it. "Wow, thanks! This is so pretty," she told him, taking the shell.
"Not as pretty as you are," the guy told her, grinning as he attempted to flirt with her.
"Oh, gag me," Kori groaned. What was going on beside her was starting to get disgusting.
"You're pretty too," he assured her.
She gave him a look. "Just shut up."
The shade guy, who had been fuming since the shell guy came over, finally snapped. "That shell's not so great!" he told the second guy.
"Ahem! Shade, shade!" Ty Lee told him pointedly, cover her eyes.
Zuko, who had left Mai, returned with two ice cream cones. "I thought, since it's hot…here." He sat down and offered her one of the cones, but at the angle he held it at, the ice cream fell off and landed onto her lap.
"Thanks. This is really…refreshing," she said.
Spotting a kuai ball game in another area of the beach, Azula looked over and saw a game going on. "Hey, beach bums, we're playing next," she told everyone before turning her head towards Ty Lee and Kori. "Ty Lee and Kori, get over here now!"
When they heard that, they came over (Kori used her feet, Ty Lee her hands). "You guys take one side, we'll take the other," Naruto told them as he and the Sand Siblings went to one side of the net.
"I'll just referee," Kori said, standing on the side. There was no way she was going to get involved in this. She just knew it would be destructive.
Azula, Zuko, Mai and Ty Lee huddled up on the other side of the net. "How do you want to play this, Azula?" Zuko asked his sister.
"Naruto's versatile, so keep an eye out on him," she began. "He'll be able to adapt to whatever we throw at him. Kankurō will probably stay in the back. Temari will probably be a heavy hitter, so she'll send the ball farther back. The wild card is Gaara."
"What do you mean?" Ty Lee asked.
"Judging by the way he fights; he doesn't move much," Zuko explained, seeing where his sister was going. "But we don't know if he's faking it or not."
"Good eye, Zuko," Azula complemented him. She hadn't thought he would pick up on that.
"So, what's the plan?" Mai asked.
"We keep the ball away from Naruto for the time being and test the others' reactions. We'll go from there."
"They still have the advantage," Zuko noted. They all looked at him. "What we have is mostly guesswork, but Naruto knows how we fight on the battlefield. He'll know we'll try to put that into how we play and there's a good chance he'll tell Gaara and his siblings."
"We'll just have to go with it." With that said, they broke the huddle and took their positions. Azula served the ball and sent it over towards Gaara. It was meant to be a probing shot, but he bumped back into the air and Naruto smashed it back into the opposite side with an impressive overhead kick. It crashed into the ground before any of them could stop it.
"Is that the best you got, Azula?" Naruto asked her with a small smirk.
"Not even close, Naruto," she told him. "Bring it!"
"Your wish is my command, my lady," he said, giving a mock bow and using that formal yet mischievous tone. The game continued, although as it progressed, it began to look more like a duel between Naruto and Azula. They had lost count of the number of times the ball flew out of the court or of Kori calling a foul. A crowd had begun to form around the sides and there was even cheering for each side.
The game ended when the ball was teetering on top of the net. Both Naruto and Azula leapt for it, swinging their legs at it. They hit the ball at the same time, causing the thing to burst and actually setting the net on fire. "Game's a draw!" Kori declared.
"Well, that's a bummer," Ty Lee said as the crowd dispersed. She was bummed that they hadn't won. But she would get over it.
"I'm just glad it's over," Mai grumbled.
"Tell me about it," Kankurō told her as he, Temari, and Gaara joined them from the other side. "You didn't have to put up with the constant mutterings of 'Take off the shirt. Take off the shirt. Take off the shirt.'"
"What?"
"The girls on our side kept saying that over and over, for obvious reasons," Temari said, pointing at Naruto.
"I am not about to turn Ember Island into a condemned place, okay?" he told her pointedly. She just raised her hands in surrender. She wasn't going to push that topic of conversation.
While they had that conversation, two boys swaggered over to Ty Lee. "I'm having a party tonight," one of them told her. "You should come by."
"Sure. I love parties," she told them.
"Your friends can come too," the other guy said, gesturing to Mai, Kori, and Temari.
"Thanks for the invite, guys," Kankurō said, joining in the conversation.
"And who exactly are you?" the first guy asked, the slightest amount of distaste showing in his voice.
"Her brother." He pointed to Temari.
"I'm surprised you weren't going to invite us," Azula said. The two shared a look. "You don't know who we are, do you?"
"Don't you know who we are?" the first guy asked. "We're Chan and Roun-Jian."
"Yeah," Roun-Jian said.
"And we should care about this why?" Naruto asked himself.
"That had better not be a question for me," the Kyūbi told him.
"But fine, you're invited," Chan said. "Just so you know, though, some of the most important teenagers in the Fire Nation are going to be at this party, so try to act normal."
"We'll do our best," Azula told them. They walked away.
"Now that those morons are gone," Naruto said, turning to the others, "you guys go have fun in the water."
"You're not going to join us?" Mai asked sarcastically, already knowing the answer.
"Don't be a smartass, Mai," he told her. "You guys go wet, I'll stay here." He walked back over to the blankets and sat back down. Gaara joined him. "Not going into the water?" he asked the redhead.
"You need the company." They watched as the others start swimming in the sea. "Naruto, about you and Azula…" the Kazekage began.
"What about us?" Naruto asked.
"Do you have feelings for her?"
The blonde suddenly felt flustered and embarrassed. "What…where did this come from?"
"It's a simple question."
"She's a princess, Gaara. I'm her bodyguard," he told his friend, trying to remain in control of himself.
"And you still haven't answered my question," Gaara remarked.
"There's nothing to answer."
"Naruto, I am not going to beat you black and blue to make you answer the question. Just answer already."
"I mean it, Gaara. She's a princess, I'm her bodyguard," the blonde repeated himself. "That's all there is to it. This isn't one of those books or movies where the princess falls in love with the bodyguard."
"Oh, the irony," the Kazekage thought. "Have you even asked her if she's in love with you?"
He groaned. "Why do you have to keep bringing things up like this?" First, it had been Konoha. Now, it was his relationship with Azula.
"I'm your friend." It was a simple answer but meant so much more.
And Naruto knew that. "…So what if I do have feelings for her?" he finally asked after a moment of silence. "In the end, it won't work."
"You're afraid of being rejected," Gaara told him. "You don't want this to end up like you and Sakura."
"I said I didn't want to hear this," he half-growled at him.
"I'm ignoring you. You keep telling me that you left Konoha behind, but it seems you still keep a part of it with you. She's not Sakura, Naruto. She's not going to punch you if you ask her out on a date."
"Nah, she'll just fry me alive." Or electrocuting him to death, whatever mood Azula was in.
"No, she won't and you know it," Gaara told his friend sternly. "You know she has feelings for you, but you won't tell her what you feel. You'll only hurt yourself if you keep going on like this. She won't reject you, Naruto."
"You don't know that."
"And neither do you."
That was when they heard sniffling nearby. Turning towards the sounds, they saw a little boy crying. "Hey, little man. Why are you crying?" Naruto asked with a gentle voice, walking over to the boy and kneeling down in front of him.
"Those kids told I couldn't play with them," the boy said, his voice quivering. "Th-they said they don't need someone who's stupid and keeps messing up their sandcastle."
"Have you tried making your own sandcastle?" Gaara asked, joining them.
"It's no fun making one on your own. And mine keep looking pathetic." Tears began to fall from his face again.
"What's your name?" Naruto asked as he shared a quick look with Gaara, who silently nodded in agreement.
"Hung," the boy answered. "My name is Hung."
"Would you like it if we played with you?"
He stopped crying and looked at them. "What?"
They bowed to him, like servants to a master. "Command us, my liege. We are but minions to you. Order us and we will do your bidding."
"Really? Y-you mean it?" he asked with a hopeful voice.
"Of course, my lord," Gaara said. "Please tell us what to do."
The tears stop falling and he gave a big grin. "You will help me make the best sandcastle on Ember Island!" he ordered .
"As you wish, master," the two of them said together, bowing their heads.
Meanwhile, the others were swimming and playing water games. "Hey, where did Naruto and Gaara go?" Kori asked when she looked back at the blankets and didn't see them.
"They'll probably around," Mai said, not really caring about them at the moment.
"Without telling us where they went?" That seemed a little unlikely.
"They can handle themselves. They don't need to tell us where they're going every single time," Temari pointed out.
"Hey, what's causing that ruckus?" Ty Lee asked, pointing to where a small crowd had gathered. They came out of the water and went over to the crowd. That was when they saw a funny thing. They saw both Naruto and Gaara building a sandcastle and being ordered around by a little boy.
"Minion," Hung said to Naruto in an imperious voice, "are the walls not done?"
"I'm almost done, master," Naruto said as he built sandcastle walls.
"Master, would you like there to be a moat around your castle?" Gaara asked the boy.
"Of course, I do." It went on like this and it was humorous to watch. Naruto and Gaara acted like Hung was their master and obeyed his every order, even if it led to them crashing into each other and destroying parts of the castle. They didn't argue or talk back. They had fun with the kid, while also making the crowd laugh.
Azula watched this and saw that Naruto was great with kids. "He would make a great parent," She thought. An idle thought of her having a family with him came through her mind for a moment before she discarded it.
Soon, the three were all done. "The castle is done, master," the two said, bowing to the kid. "Are you satisfied?"
"Indeed, I am, minions." He walked to the castle, which reached up to his waist. "And now, there's only one thing left to do." He raised a foot and stomped down on the sand wall, crushing it. Naruto and Gaara joined him in destroying the castle, the crowd cheering as they went on. When the castle was finally destroyed, the crowd had left. "That was fun!" Hung declared as they lay in the ruins of the sandcastle.
"Glad you enjoyed yourself, Hung," Naruto said to him.
"As entertaining as that was," Azula spoke up, getting their attention. "It's about time to head back."
"Do you have to?" Hung asked with sadness in his voice. It was obvious that he wanted to play with them for a little bit longer.
"Unfortunately, we must," Gaara said, standing up.
"You had fun, right, Hung?" Naruto asked him. He nodded. "Good, that was the intention. You better go. I think your mother is waving at you to come back." He pointed to where a woman was waving her arm at them.
"Thanks! Bye!" Hung told the two of them as he ran off.
"Let's get going," Azula said. They packed up and headed back to the twins' house. When they got there, they sat down to eat. Being down at the beach all day had been a bit exhausting.
"Why didn't you tell those guys who we were?" Zuko asked Azula. It had been bugging him ever since those two had invited them to their little party.
"I guess I was…intrigued," she said. "I'm so used to people worshipping us."
"They should," Ty Lee stated.
"No, they shouldn't," Naruto argued. "A ruler and his family are not gods, they are human."
"You have a point, Naruto," Azula said, agreeing with him. "For once, I want to see how people would treat us of they didn't know who we were." She wanted to see if it was any different.
"Like waves washing away the footprints on the sand, Ember Island gives everyone a clean slate." Li told them.
"Ember Island reveals the true you." Lo said. Then the two of them stood up and clapped. "To the party!" They declared.
"Just because we're at your house, doesn't mean you get to be pushy," Naruto told them. "We'll go when we're ready." He intended to relax a little before moving again.
The hawk flew, carrying its message. Flying towards it was a raven hawk. The raven hawk dived towards the hawk and grabbed the black ribbon. It hog-tied the messenger hawk with the ribbon, making it crash to the ground. It landed next to the messenger hawk, took the message and flew off. It soon landed on the metal arm of the assassin, who took the message from its beak. As he read, the paper began to burn.
They walked up to Chan's house. They had changed out of their swimwear and into regular clothes. "Kori, why exactly is there a chain wrapped around your midsection?" Naruto asked. She had changed out of her swimwear and into clothes, but she had a chain wrapped around her body.
"It's for protection," she answered with a straight face.
"Why would you need protection?" Kankurō asked, mystified by that answer.
"I saw some of those looks Ty Lee's 'servants' were giving us," she told the Suna shinobi. "I'm surprised they didn't try to jump us then and there."
"Oh, stop worrying, Kori," Ty Lee told her with a cheerful grin. "Those guys aren't going to do anything." The acrobat was completely confident that the boys in there would be polite.
"I expect an apology when you're proven wrong."
"People, that's enough," Azula said as they stopped in front of the door. "We're here." She banged the knocker.
Chan opened the door. "Um…you're a little early," he told them. "No one's here yet."
"I heard you telling someone you'd be partying from dusk to dawn. It's dusk, so we're here," she replied.
"But that's just an expression." It wasn't supposed to be taken this seriously.
"We're punctual people," Naruto said with a completely straight face. The fox in his head started to snicker.
He shrugged and waved them in. "All right, listen. My dad's an admiral," he told them. "He has no idea I'm throwing this party, so don't mess anything up."
"Understood," Gaara told him.
"That's a sharp outfit, Chan," Azula complimented him as he turned around, making him turn his head back. "Careful, you could hurt someone with it. Because it's so sharp," she explained.
"Um…thanks," he said before walking away.
Her face fell into a look of disappointment. "Good try," Naruto whispered to her as he walked up beside her. "It could've been worse."
"How could that have been worse?" she asked quietly.
"You could've told him it could puncture a hole in an empire-class Fire Nation ship, leaving thousands to drown at sea." She didn't say anything in response, knowing that he was right.
As they walked in, Ruon-Jian was fixing his hair. He saw them in the mirror and turned around. "Hey. First ones here, huh?" He greeted them, leaning against the mirror.
Zuko scoffed at the guy as he passed. "He thinks he's so great." He looked over at Mai. "Well, what do you think of him?
"I don't have any opinion about him. I hardly know him," she told him.
Zuko, being a guy, jumped to conclusions. "You like him, don't you?" The only response he got was an exasperated sigh.
"That's not going to end well," Kori noted.
"Don't be nosy, Kori," Naruto told her off.
Soon enough, more people showed up and the party got underway. "So how do you know Ty Lee?" one guy asked another as they stood around.
"I met her at the beach today," the second guy answered him. "She was pretty impressed by a sand pagoda that I made for her."
"Well, I met her first," A third guy joined in the conversation. They all turned to Ty Lee, who was backed into a corner (literally). Other guys joined them as they stared at her.
"Look, i-it doesn't matter who I met first, 'cause I like you all," she tried to pacify them.
"But which one of us do you like?" the first guy asked, placing emphasis on the last word.
"Yeah," the third guy agreed.
"Tell us," the second guy told her.
She was beginning to feel incredibly nervous when help came to her rescues. "Is there a problem here?" Gaara asked from behind the crowd.
Hearing his voice, Ty Lee flipped over the boys and stood behind him. "They kept asking who I liked and wouldn't leave me alone," she told him, whispering quietly into his ear.
"Gentlemen, if the lady doesn't want to answer your question, leave her alone," he told the group of boys.
"What? You like her too?" the first guy demanded.
Gaara simply folded his arms. To anyone who knew him, that was the signal to run. "I recommend you boys leave her alone now." The tone in his voice offered no compromise. Thankfully, the boys had enough brains in their heads to get the warning. They scarpered off quick. He turned back to Ty Lee. "That better?"
"Thanks, Gaara, you're a lifesaver," she told him before walking away. She soon found Azula leaning against a pillar. "Hey Azula, those boys won't leave me alone. I guess they all just like me too much," she said with an easy smile.
"Come on, Ty Lee. You can't be this ignorant," Azula told her.
"What are you talking about?"
"Those boys only like you because you make it so easy for them. You're not a challenge. You're a tease. It's not like they actually cared who you are." Those words made Ty Lee start to cry. "Okay, okay, calm down. I didn't mean what I said. Look, maybe I said it because I was a little…jealous," she whispered the last part, embarrassed to say it.
"What? You're jealous of me? But you're the most beautiful, smartest, perfect girl in the world," the acrobat protested, the tears having quickly dried up.
"Well, you're right about all those things. But when I meet boys, they act as if I'm going to do something horrible to them. The only ones who don't act like that are Naruto, Zuko, and maybe even Gaara." They acted completely normal around her.
The acrobat giggled. "You probably would do something horrible to them. I'm sure they're just intimated by you. Okay, look, if you want a boy to like you, just look at him and smile and laugh at everything he says even if it's not funny."
"Well, that's sounds really shallow and stupid." She looked over at Naruto. "Plus, the boy I like probably wouldn't like that."
Ty Lee followed her gaze. "You have a point. In that case, forget everything I said." She turned around and saw Kori standing in front of her. "What's the matter, Kori?"
"I'm waiting," she told her.
"Um…waiting for what?" the acrobat asked, feeling a little nervous.
"You didn't think I wouldn't see what happened in that corner, Ty Lee?" Kori asked her. "Had Gaara not shown up, they would've pounced on you."
"Alright, alright, I'm sorry that I was wrong. Happy?"
"Yes."
Meanwhile, Mai and Zuko were sitting together on a bench. "I'm bored," Mai said.
"I know," Zuko told her.
"I'm hungry."
"So what?" How was that his problem?
"So, find me some food."
"Sure." He got up and left in search of the food she wanted.
Kankurō was walking through the party when he saw something on a pedestal. "Well, hello," he said as he picked up the puppet and began to fiddle with it and saw something that he found wrong. "And who are you? You're broken. Why hasn't anyone fixed you?" He fished out a few tools from his pocket. "That's going to change."
"What are you doing?" a girl asked from behind him.
"What does it look like I'm doing?" he asked without turning to face her. He was completely focused on his work.
"It looks like you're playing with a doll," she commented, having seen the thing before he started fiddling with it.
"I'm not playing with a doll. I'm fixing a puppet," he told her before putting his tools away. "And now I'm done." He hoisted the puppet off of the pedestal and showed it to the girl. It had been a quick and easy job.
"Why are you so interested in a broken puppet?" She made it sound like it was the weirdest thing anyone could've done.
"I restore puppets. It's a profession where I from. Puppets are quite valuable in my home," he explained, omitting the rest of the facts.
"How is that possible?" To her, puppets were just puppets.
"We're home to many puppet theaters," Temari told her as she joined in the conversation.
"Really?" asked the girl as she looked back at Kankurō with a new interest. "So, you're a puppet actor?"
"Well, I'm training to be one. A part of the training is that you help restore the puppets. Then make your own," he explained.
"Have you made yours?"
"Yes, I have. But I didn't bring him here." He placed the puppet back on the pedestal. "If you can, tell Chan that it's fixed." He walked away with Temari.
"You and I know perfectly well that you brought Sasori with you," Temari whispered. Her brother had been working on that puppet long before Gaara went on vacation.
"But I didn't bring him here," he whispered back, gesturing at the house. "That would've caused a scene." And that was the last thing they needed right now.
As they were talking, Zuko was putting food on a plate for Mai. As he walked away, another guy swung his arm and knocked the food on the ground. "Hey, watch it!" Zuko told the guy. "That food was for my cranky girlfriend!" He pointed over towards Mai, only to look over and see her talking to Ruon-Jian. He had been trying to keep his temper under control the entire day, but when he saw that, he had to respond. He rushed over and shoved him away.
"What are you doing?" Ruon-Jian demanded.
"Quit talking to my girlfriend!" he ordered.
"Relax, it's just a party," he said, walking back towards them. Zuko just shoved him again, this time sending him crashing into a vase and destroying it.
Zuko then felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned his head to see it was Naruto. "Calm down, now," the blonde ordered.
"Zuko, what is wrong with you?" Mai asked. She had been surprised to see something like that happen by him.
"What's wrong with me?" he asked back.
"Your temper is out of control and you're blowing up over the littlest thing!"
"Well, what about you? You have no passion for anything! You're just a big blah!"
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Naruto thundered, getting their attention and everyone else in the house. "The two of you, knock it off!" he ordered the two of them.
Mai decided to get the last word in. "It's over, Zuko. We're done."
"What did I just say, Mai?" Naruto asked her. She fell silent.
"Who broke my nana's vase?" Chan demanded, running over to the destroyed vase. Ruon-Jian pointed at Zuko. "That's it! You're out of here!"
He shrugged his shoulder out of Naruto's grip. "I was just leaving." He didn't want to spend another minute at this party.
"Have fun by yourself, loser boy," Ruon-Jian called after him as he walked away.
"Nice." Chan said.
Zuko said nothing. He just walked out of the house, slamming the door behind him. He walked down to the beach and away from the house. He wasn't quite sure how long he had walked. But when he passed a rock, looked up and saw the old beach house, he knew he had walked far.
"It's been a while," he thought to himself. He started to walk up to the house. As he did, he couldn't but remember memories from his childhood, memories of playing amongst the dunes and with a younger Iroh and Lu Ten. He reached the door and tried to open it. "Right, forgot it was locked. Well then…" He kicked the doors open. He walked in and saw the portrait of his family, when he was younger. His gaze traveled from his father to him and then to his mother. He remembered a memory of when he was little, and she helped him make a handprint in a stone. He saw that same stone was still on the drawer beneath the portrait. He picked it up and put his hand on it. His hand was now bigger than the imprint in the stone, the fingers stretching past the stone's edges.
They were all sleeping on the shore next to the hot springs. Both Toph and Akela awoke at the same time. "Guys," Toph said, waking the others up. "You're all gonna think I'm crazy, but it feels like a metal man is coming."
A light shined in Aang's eyes, making him rub the sleep out of them and look at where the light was coming from. Everyone followed the light to see it shining from the assassin's metal arm. Sokka reached for his jian and Akela started growling.
The only thing the assassin did was inhale. Aang realized what he was about to do and ran forward. The assassin's stomach clench up and he fired a blast from his third eye. The blast was so small and so fast that it left air waves in its wake. Due to it being a warning shot, it hit the wall of the hot springs just in front of them. The shockwaves sent them all flying backwards.
Toph recovered first and retaliated by bending a large rock-wave at the assassin. Just as it was about to completely cover him. He destroyed it with another blast, which also flew directly at the team. Aang deflected it with an air blast. The force of it sent him skidding backwards. Katara tried to attack by bending a large wave of water at him. He hit that with a blast as well, causing the hot springs to be covered in steam, blocking his view of the team.
"I thought I'd find you here," Azula remarked as she stood on the steps of the house. She looked at Zuko, who was sitting against one of the wooden columns.
"Those summers we spent here seem so long ago. Even the one when we met Naruto," he told her, looking at the stone with his handprint. "So much has changed." For a moment, he wished that he could go back to those summers again.
"Come down to the beach with me," she told him after a moment's silence. "Come on. This place is depressing." She walked away. He followed her after leaving the stone on the steps. The two of them walked down to the beach, where the others were waiting. Zuko and Mai shared a glance before he kept on walking.
"Hey," Mai said, trying to mend the bridge.
"Where's your new boyfriend?" Zuko asked curtly. She scowled and looked away. When he realized what she was trying to do, he walked over to her and sat down next to her. "Are you cold?" he asked her, putting his hand on her shoulder, which she slapped away.
"I'm freezing," Ty Lee declared, trying to relieve the tension that was surrounding the air around them.
"I'll make a fire." He looked up to the house. "There's plenty of stuff to burn in there."
"You'd better not go pyromaniac on us," Kori warned him.
"Was that really necessary, Kori?" Temari asked.
The assassin fired another blast through the mist, trying to hit the team, but he missed. The others could hear the noise and feel the vibrations. "This is crazy!" Sokka declared. "How could we beat a guy who blows things up with his mind?"
"We can't!" Aang said. "Jump on Appa! I'll try to distract him!" He leapt away before anyone could argue with him. He charged through the steam and leapt over the hot springs' wall, avoiding another blast by inches. He slid down the other side and ran into the forest of rock columns and hid behind one.
The assassin chased after him. He looked around and soon spotted him. He fired off a blast that destroyed the rock column and Aang too, had he not leapt to a different column. He repeated the action again at the second column. This time, Aang leapt away and responded with bending a column at the assassin. He replied by destroying the column with one blast and fired another at Aang.
Aang managed to survive by using Airbending against the blast to be sent flying off into the air. He landed far away from the assassin, smashing through a column as he landed. The assassin rushed over to the destroyed column and then began to walk slowly, his eyes searching for his target. As he walked back one column, he stopped and took a closer look. All he saw were Aang's eyes underneath the rock before Aang leapt out covered in stone. He jumped off of the assassin's shoulder and into the air. The assassin fired another blast at him, which only sent him further into the air. Finally, the stone covering him broke away and he began to fall. That was when Appa flew in and caught him.
"I'm okay," he told them as he regained control of his breathing.
"Well, that was random," Toph stated.
"I don't think so," Katara said. "I get the feeling he knows who we are."
"Oh great, one more thing to worry about," grumbled Sokka. Akela nodded in agreement.
They had managed to start a fire. "What are you doing?" Ty Lee asked Zuko as he threw the painting of his family onto the fire.
"What does it look like I'm doing?" he asked back.
"But…it's a painting of your family," she protested. That wasn't something you should just toss into the fire.
"You think I care?"
"I think you do."
"You don't know me, so why don't you just mind your own business?" He turned around and started to walk away.
She scoffed quietly. "I know you," she said quietly.
But he heard her, and it made him stop walking. "No, you don't," he snapped, turning to face her. "You're stuck in your little 'Ty Lee world' where everything's great all the time."
"And here we go," the Kyūbi said with exasperation. "I hate it when you humans reach puberty. All those emotions, hormones and other whatnot, it's enough to make a Bijū gag."
"Speaking from experience, are we?" Naruto asked him. The blonde was standing next to the rock Azula was sitting on.
"Shut up."
"Zuko, leave her alone," Mai ordered him.
The Scarred Dragon ignored her. "I'm so pretty. Look at me; I can walk on my hands. Whoo!" he mocked Ty Lee, getting into a handstand. He held eye contact with her before falling and looking up at the sky. "Circus freak."
Both Azula and Kori looked like they were about to do serious harm to Zuko when Ty Lee spoke. "Yes, I'm a circus freak. You want to know why I join the circus?" she asked him. "Do you have any idea what my home life was like? Growing up with six sisters who looked exactly like me? It was like I didn't even have my own name." She fellto the ground and began to cry. "I joined the circus because I was scared of spending the rest of my life as part of a matched set. At least I'm different now. Circus freak is a compliment!"
"Guess that explains why you need ten boyfriends too." Mai said.
The acrobat looked at her. "I'm sorry, what?" she asked with indignation.
"Attention issues," the knife wielder explained. "You couldn't get enough attention when you were a kid, so you're trying to make up for it now."
"Well, what's your excuse, Mai? You were an only child for fifteen years, but even with all that attention, your aura is this dingy, pasty, grey…"
"I don't believe in auras," she said, cutting her off.
"Yeah, you don't believe in anything," Zuko said, standing up from where he lay on the ground.
"Oh, well, I'm sorry I can't be as high-strung and crazy as the rest of you."
"I'm sorry too." He walked back to the fire. "I wish you would be high-strung and crazy for once instead of keeping all your feelings bottled up inside." He pointed at Ty Lee. "She just called your aura dingy. Are you gonna take that?"
She leaned back against the rock. "What do you want from me? You want a teary confession about how hard my childhood was? Well, it wasn't. I was a rich only child who got anything I wanted…as long as I behaved and sat still and didn't speak unless spoken to. My mother said I had to keep out of trouble. We had my dad's political career to think about."
"Well, that's it then," Azula said to her. "You had a controlling mother who had certain expectation, and if you strayed from them, you were shut down. That's why you're afraid to care about anything and why you can't express yourself."
"You want me to express myself? Leave me alone!" she shouted, standing up. That action surprised everyone.
"I like when you express yourself," Zuko told her as he tried to put a hand on her shoulder. It was the only time the Mai he loved showed herself.
"Don't touch me!" she snapped at him, taking a step back. "I'm still mad at you." She sat back down back down on the rock.
"My life hasn't been that easy either, Mai," he told her.
"Whatever. That doesn't excuse the way you've been acting."
"Calm down, you guys," Ty Lee said to both of them. "This much negative energy is bad for your skin. You'll totally break out."
Naruto groaned quietly when he heard those words and covered his eyes. "Why did she have to go there? Why?" he asked himself. That probably had to be one of the dumbest things to at this point.
"She didn't think it through?" the fox offered with slight sarcasm.
"Bad skin?" repeated Zuko. "Normal teenagers worry about bad skin. I don't have that luxury. My father decided to teach me a permanent lesson on my face!" He pointed to his scar to emphasize his point.
"Sorry, Zuko, I…" Ty Lee tried to apologize.
"For so long I thought that if my dad accepted me, I'd be happy," he ranted, turning around and walking a few steps away. "I'm back home now, my dad talks to me. Ha! He even thinks I'm a hero. For Agni's sake, I've even helped in the war. Everything should be perfect, right?" He asked them as he walked back to the fire. "I should be happy now, but I'm not. I'm angrier than ever and I don't why!"
"Zuko, it's a simple question," Gaara said. "Who are you angry at?"
"No one," he answered "I'm just angry."
"Yeah, who are you angry at, Zuko?" Mai asked.
"Everyone! I don't know!"
"Is it Dad?" Azula asked.
"No, no."
"Your uncle?" asked Ty Lee.
"Is it Yāo Jing or Azula?" Naruto asked.
"Is it us?" Temari asked, gesturing to her brothers and Kori.
"No, n-no, no, no!" That wasn't it. That wasn't it at all.
"Then who?" asked Mai. "Who are you angry at?"
"Answer the question, Zuko," Azula told him.
"Talk to us," Ty Lee pleaded.
"Come on, answer the question," Mai told him.
"Come on, answer it," Azula repeated.
At this point, his temper, which he had been fighting a losing battle against all day, finally snapped. Swinging his arms down, he bent the fire into a pillar, making the others recoil from it, before turning to face the sea. "I'M ANGRY AT MYSELF!" he yelled before breathing lightning out into the sea. As he finished breathing, the pillar diminished and the fire died, leaving embers behind.
"Why?" Azula finally asked him.
"Because I'm confused," he told them all. "Because I'm not sure I know the difference between right and wrong anymore." He had been so sure when he had first been banished. And now, three years later, he wasn't sure.
"I know one thing I care about," Mai said as she stood up and went over to him. "I care about you." They shared a kiss together.
"Well, those were wonderful performances, everyone," Azula said, clapping mockingly.
"I guess you wouldn't understand. Would you, Azula?" Zuko asked, putting a hand around Mai. "Because you're just so perfect."
"Perfect? Hardly, that would be Yāo Jing," she replied sarcastically. "But I guess that if I did have a sob story, it would be that our mother cared for Zuko more than me." She looked at the embers. "But can you blame her? She thought I was a monster." Even as she said those words, they hurt her.
"You're not a monster, Azula," Naruto told her firmly, sitting down next to her. "You've proven that lately."
"He's right," Ty Lee agreed. "If anyone's a monster, it's Yāo Jing."
"How did she become like that?" Kori asked. She had met the bastard child of the Fire Lord (thankfully, when she was with others) and she could tell that what the others were saying right now was true.
"You can thank her father for that," Naruto told her. "He raised her to believe that power was everything. She believed every word and saw the throne as the way to get the most power. When she was told that she would never get it, she was furious. So, she came to the belief that if she killed Zuko and Azula and wasn't blamed for it, her father would have no choice but to give her the throne."
"Why does she seem so fixated on you, Naruto?" Gaara asked.
"The Royal Flaming Asshole also taught her that one of the best ways to gain power to have others fear you. She took that lesson to heart and terrorized the palace ever since. Even Azula and Zuko feared her. To her, the only person she can't scare is her father. Anyone else should be in fear of her. The reason she wants me to be broken is because I do not fear her. That one fact alone infuriates her. However, she can't touch me because of my position as Azula's bodyguard. I stand outside of her grasp, and I openly mock her."
"You know, compared to you guys, my issues are tame," Kori admitted. Her concerns were mainly focused on doing the right thing for her home and not disappointing her family.
"What Lo and Li said came true," Ty Lee said as she picked up a rock and idly rubbed it. "The beach did help us learn about ourselves. I feel all smoothed. I'll always remember this."
Azula got an idea. "You know what would make this trip really memorable?" she asked them with a smirk on her face.
"I know that look in your eye, Azula," Naruto said, making her stop. "But, for once, I'll condone it." Her smirk grew at those words.
"What did you have in mind?" Gaara asked her. She quickly told them the idea and led them back to Chan's house. Chan opened the door after they had banged on the knocker.
"We have some bad news, Chan," She told him.
"Party's over," Zuko declared. They all charged into the house, except for Naruto who stayed outside and proceeded to destroy it. As they tore up the house, teenagers ran out of the house screaming (even Ruon-Jian).
But Naruto still stayed outside. "Kankurō, what are you doing?" he heard Temari ask her brother.
"What does it look like I'm doing?" the puppeteer ask back. "I'm saving the puppet."
"Just leave the thing alone!" Zuko shouted out.
"Are you insane!? This is a beautiful piece of work." The Suna shinobi appeared at the door. "Naruto, hold this!" He handed off the puppet to him before going back to the carnage. And the blonde still waited outside, puppet in hand.
By the time they were done, the house had been all but burned down to the ground. "You guys have fun?" Naruto asked as they left the burning building.
Why they all nodded in acknowledgement, Chan was just staring at the remains of his family's beach house. "Why did you guys do that?" he demanded. "There's nothing left!"
"Oh right, here you go." The blonde handed the puppet back to him. "We'll be leaving now." He and the rest of the group turned around and walked back down the steps.
"What am I going to tell my father!?" they heard Chan shout down at them.
"Have him send me the bill for repairs," he shouted back without turning his head. "The name's Naruto." There was no reply to that. Which meant Chan knew who the blonde was and had only just realized it.
He found himself floating in the air and in immeasurable pain. Forcing himself to look down, he saw the Sanbi being sealed into the Gedō Mazō. He could hear the Bijū screaming inside his head. "Yagura, where are you?! Please save me! Don't let them take me. PLEASE! YAGURA!" His voice finally went silent when he was sealed inside the statue.
"The Sanbi is sealed," the leader (Naruto figured that since he did the announcing, he was the leader) announced.
It was at that point Naruto awoke from his sleep with a gasp. He struggled to regain control of his breathing. "I need some fresh air." he thought as he grabbed a nearby shirt and ran out of the house. He ran all the way to the beach, where he finally stopped.
"You knew it was going to happen, gaki," the Kyūbi told him, his voice somber.
"I know and I hate Sifu right now for making me go through this," he replied. He had dreamed of the Sanbi being captured the night before they had left for Ember Island. He had known this was coming and yet, it still shook him. "Why was he calling out to someone named Yagura?"
"The last time I checked, Yagura was his last host," the fox answered his question. "He always got attached to his hosts. When he was extracted and they died, he would always go into mourning."
"And so, when he was being sealed, he begged for his last host to save him. But why could I hear him?"
"You're a Jinchūriki and he was scared. He was practically screaming to anyone who could hear him."
"And now, there are two of us left." He gave a bitter laugh at that thought. "How long will it be until they come back? Will I be the last or am I next on the list?"
"Maybe…maybe you should let the other Paragons help you when they come?"
"How can I do that?" He asked the Bijū. "I've never met the Earth Paragon, Sokka is an enemy, and we both know how hard it is to get ahold of her."
"She is the Paragon of the Air Nomads." That alone meant she was a bit of a free spirit and a wanderer. "But what are you going do until they come?"
"…I don't know." That simple sentence scared him. He didn't like being scarred. It reminded him of his early days as a child when he had been helpless and couldn't do anything to protect himself.
That was when he heard Azula say "Naruto?" from behind him. He turned around to look at her. "Are you okay?" She asked, walking towards him. She had woken up to see him run out of the house. Concerned and worried, she had thrown on some clothes and came after him.
"I'm fine, Azula. I…just had a bad dream, that's all," He tried to assure her. But even as he spoke those words, they felt hollow to him.
"Are you sure?" She was caught off guard when he suddenly pulled her into a tight hug. "N-Naruto, what are…?" She tried to ask, her face blushing.
"Azula, please, just let me do this," He told her, his tone begging. "With you here, I know that everything will be alright." She didn't argue, nor did she struggle against it. She simply returned the hug. Under the light of the moon, the two who were reluctant to admit what they felt to the other, held each other. Though neither of them knew it, they shared the same feeling.
They felt safe in each other's arms.
End
Author's note: Thank you for all the reviews you've sent me.
Okay, first up, I'm skipping The Avatar and the Fire Lord. The reason for that is because it has no point in this story. Besides, what I've got planned will pretty much destroy the point of the episode and no, I'm not telling you what is I've got planned. You'll just have to wait.
So now you know why Yāo Jing wants to break Naruto. And it's not sexually. It's about making him afraid of her. If he fears her, everything's back to normal for her.
I know that there are some of you who're going to say that after the last chapter, I returned Zuko to who he originally was. Despite being more serious and more mature, he's still a teenager. So he still has to deal with everything that comes along with. That's probably why they made this episode in the first place.
If you're going to complain about how Naruto didn't talk about his issues in this episode, I will remind you that he's tight-lipped about that. Even if that had happened, he wouldn't have said anything.
Originally, the plan for the end of this chapter was for the Sanbi to arrive at Ember Island, mad with grief. Naruto has the island evacuated and then he and Gaara fight it. I realized that this wouldn't work. How exactly am I supposed to have two people fight against a creature that's easily the size of a skyscraper? Also add in the fact that Naruto would not summon the toads at all to help. Don't bother suggesting the navy, they wouldn't have gotten there in time and even if they did get there, one flick of one of the Sanbi's tail would capsize them. So instead, I went Naruto dreaming about the Sanbi being captured.
I'll see you all next chapter!