Chapter 3 - Kyoshi

"Patience," Iroh instructed, side stepping his niece. "Fire is not born from anger but breath. You must never lose your centre."

She roared at him and he foot swept her, standing to the side and fanning himself with an ornamental fan given to him as a gift by one of his old subordinate officers.

Iroh was playing a dangerous game. He hadn't fought his brother's claim to the throne, he had pulled back from the politics and frankly, self care.

He was doing the opposite now. Though he didn't attend war councils and seemingly left the military alone.

It would buy him time before his brother realized the threat Iroh might become. Azula was in the middle of it all, and easier to win over than Iroh had imagined.

While she might have been Ozai's favourite child, that didn't mean he actually devoted time to her.

He had, truthfully, always assumed Azula was a bit crazy, but truthfully, she was inordinately powerful and starved for affection and challenges. Hurting after her brother's death and alienated by her father's cold disregard of all of it, stepping up as a mentor was simple.

Especially as Iroh didn't shew away her friends, friends who had only meant to escort Azula to his wing of the palace until Iroh had encouraged them both to stay.

Maybe Iroh would speak to their parents, to ensure the girls, Mai and Ty-Lee, it was quite clear that Azula needed people her own age who didn't fear her so much that they wouldn't argue or tease her.

Ozai was a bastard for isolating his children like this. No wonder Azula's sanity had been slipping.

Sure, the girl wasn't inclined toward empathy, but that didn't mean she was heartless. She was ruthless and a better military leader than Zuko could ever hope to be.

But she wasn't a leader of a nation, she simply didn't understand people well enough. She viewed others' needs as weaknesses.

She viewed her own needs as weaknesses.

But if Iroh could earn her trust… Maybe he could show her a better path.

He wouldn't fail her the way he had failed his own son and Zuko.

Azula came back up spitting.

Iroh smirked, "Perhaps you should practise with Mai and Ty-Lee now."

Azula huffed, "I will beat you one day, old man."

He smiled, "I look forward to it, but today is not that day."

She took a stance, took a breath, and unlike Zuko, completely undeterred by the near-certainty of failure.

A warrior princess, through and through.

oOo

Turtles, Zuko swore mentally.

They really were children, he thought as he snagged the bag of food from Aang.

"Just because you don't eat it, doesn't mean it's not food," Zuko said, shooing the boy away.

His time at living in the Earth Nation as an ordinary person had at least prepared Zuko for having no powers.

Sort of.

He still felt empty, as if a strong gust of wind could blow him away.

They had been staying on the shores of the Air Nation islands, it had taken some convincing but Aang had relented in his curiosity when Zuko told him none of his people had been given proper burials.

Or, as Aang informed him quietly, they hadn't been cremated properly as the Air Nomads —like the Fire Nation— burned their dead.

Returning them to the sky.

It was hard not to be depressed when faced with the reality of genocide.

An entire culture; erased, forgotten…

For all that Aang was a child and naive, he was also an incredibly resilient person.

He was happy when Aang was reunited with his flying lemur that soared down toward them from higher up one of the mountains.

"What are you doing?" Zuko called as Aang stripped out of his clothes save his briefs.

Zuko had remained in his furs with no intention of parting with them anytime soon.

Aang, who grew up on top of mountains and in the winds, didn't seem to have a problem with the temperature.

"I'm going to ride the elephant koi!" Aang said cheerfully.

Zuko paled, "You brought us to Kyoshi Island!?"

So much for thinking Aan was a brilliant tactician to fly so erratically.

"Come on, Lee!" Aang whined, stepping back.

Zuko tackled him.

He almost missed but having fought the brat for months upon months, he was expecting him to spring upward.

Zuko caught his ankle and wrestled him down in the sand, "No! I'm not going in that water after you! It is too cold for this, you little idiot!"

"Katara!" Aang called, laughing. "Save me!"

Zuko growled as he got sand in his mouth as Aang spun them, which turned out to be a good thing because he saw them.

"Ambush!" he yelled, pushing Aang off him.

Zuko pulled his weapons as did Sokka.

"We mean no harm!" Zuko tried to say but didn't hold back as the girls with fans dropped from the trees.

A blue eyed warrior met his gaze, her eyes flashing with vicious anticipation.

"Run!" Zuka called to the others.

There were three warriors now, but there were likely more to come.

Thankfully, Aang and the others listened, grabbing their stuff and booking it toward the bison.

Zuko twirled his blades and warned, "Let us go."

"Fire Nation spies," one girl spat.

Zuko rolled his eyes, "I'm wearing Water Nation clothes, moron."

Painted eyes narrowed on him, "Clothes mean nothing."

"I'm sure your founder would appreciate that sentiment," Zuko snarked.

They attacked in a blur of gold and green.

Zuko had been training every chance he got until he had felt like himself. Aside from his face, he almost felt like himself, his fighting skills were at least intact excluding his bending.

He realized only now —with adrenaline pumping through his veins— that, no, no this wasn't him.

He had no root. His chi was a mess in his gut, throwing off his centre.

But like with all things, there was a trade off.

He might feel unmoored, but he was faster than he ever had been and every time he jumped he felt as if he had springs in his soles.

He met every strike of a fan with his swords. He was able to get two of the girls down. The auburn haired girl though was in a league of her own.

Zuko —despite himself— was enjoying the fight. Still, glancing up, he saw his ride taking off.

He knocked a fan out of the girl's hand, she caught it but was thrown a bit off balance. He kicked her in the stomach, her blue eyes going wide as her back hit a tree trunk.

Zuko ran.

"Coward!" she yelled.

"Suki! Wait!" another girl cautioned.

Suki.

Zuko ran faster, he didn't want to deal with her. She was one of Aang's allies and hurting her wasn't in their best interest.

"I have him!" Suki called back to her fellow warriors.

Zuko smiled to himself as crested the ledge. He jumped and spun to see her expression.

The girl's eyes widened, as he went over the lip.

But apparently, every girl he met was insane because she jumped blindly after him.

oOo

Suki was so done.

Done with her village and their isolation.

As if by staying out of the war they could avoid it.

Avoid misfortune.

But her parents and younger sister had died; staying out of the war hadn't saved them from their illness.

She had told their village leader, Oyaji, that she was leaving the island.

He hadn't believed she would leave her sisters.

She had told him this morning he was wrong, and now was her opportunity to prove it.

As she jumped, all she could think was this was her resignation.

The grey-eyed intruder was her ticket out.

He was good with his blades, but the question was; how was he with surprises?

They didn't land in water as she expected and apparently, the boy was rather good with surprises, because before she knew it, she found herself pinned against a rather large saddle.

"You'll be walking home," the boy said. Then he smirked, "Or swimming, given you live on an island."

She tried to buck him off, and failed, the wind having been knocked out of her. Still she managed a less than intimidating gasp of, "Let me go!"

He frowned at her, "I told you that we meant no harm, why couldn't you just let us go?"

She looked over the boy's bald head, "Are those clouds getting closer?"

He let her up.

She sat up and found a blade's edge at her throat.

Suki didn't honestly care when she saw the horizon, "Are we flying?"

The other bald kid who was pulling on blue clothes grinned at her, "Yep. This is Appa." He patted the fluffy head he was sitting on. "He's a flying bison. I'm Aang, by the way. That's my older brother, Lee. And this is Katara and Sokka."

The two waved at her even as Lee remained hard faced and unwavering with his sword.

"We're from the Southern Water Tribe, not the Fire Nation, if you were wondering," the boy, Sokka said. "And to think, you didn't even need to ambush us for that; you could have just asked."

Suki opened her hands, the fans falling from them, "Alright, I yield."

"Good," Lee said, sheathing his swords. "But we aren't landing for a while." He turned to his little brother, "And I'm never trusting you with the map again. Hand it over, Aang."

"But you—"

"No, you idiot. If you had bothered to tell me where we were landing, I could have told you Kryoshi is dangerous."

"Didn't used to be," Aang muttered to Suki's confusion.

Lee whapped him over the back of the head with the beg the map had been held in, "Shut up!"

The younger boy winced, smiling sheepishly up at his older brother.

Wasn't he a little young for head and hand tattoos?

"Where are you all going?" Suki asked.

"To the Northern Tribe," Katara answered.

"Shut it! You all are terrible. We aren't landing anywhere inhabited after this," Lee said, rubbing his face.

"Paranoid much?" Suki remarked.

Lee glared at her, "That's hilarious; coming from you."

She flushed, "My name is Suki."

"An honour," Lee said sarcastically.

"I don't think I like you," she sniped.

Far from being offended, the grey eyed boy merely smirked at her as if he knew something she didn't.

"Lee wasn't serious," Aang said.

"I was serious," Lee corrected as he kept his gaze on the map.

"We can drop you off at the edge of the island," Aang continued as if his brother hadn't spoken.

"Why are you going to the North Pole?" Suki asked.

"To learn how to water bend," Aang said cheerfully.

Lee cursed under his breath, "Stop talking to her. You realise the Fire Nation has as much love for water benders as it does air benders, right? All it takes is one overheard conversation and we could all find ourselves arrested."

"We are in the sky!" Aang protested. "Who's going to overhear, the birds?"

Appa let out a grumbling sound, a sound that rumbled through the saddle beneath them.

Aang petted the bison's enormous head, "I know buddy, but you're one of us."

"So you're going to join the war?" Suki asked.

"Yes," Aang, Katara, and Sokka said together.

Lee face palmed.

"I can't believe I'm going to say this, but you got to lighten up a little, Lee," Sokka said.

Lee arched a brow at the dark skinned boy, "Why because a beautiful lady batted her eyelashes at you?"

"You got a problem with female warriors?" Suki demanded feeling oddly disappointed in the handsome boy who had bested her in a fight.

No one had ever been able to beat her since she had turned fifteen. She hadn't had a real challenge in over a year now.

But to her question Lee only huffed, "I have a lot of problems, Kyoshi, underestimating women isn't one of them."

Suki fidgeted, "I thought all the water benders from the Southern tribe had been killed?"

"Yes," Sokka said. "Except for my sister and Aang, apparently. We were all really young when the Fire Nation attacked."

Suki squared her shoulders, "Then I will help escort you to the Northern Tribe."

"Awesome!" Aang cheered.

"Escort us?" Lee asked. "We don't need the extra baggage."

"I'm an asset," she said, getting in his face. Even on their knees he was taller.

"We don't need help," he countered.

She glared at him, "You're travelling with three children on a flying cow across the globe, it looks to me like you could use all the help you can get."

"We aren't children!" Katara and Sokka exclaimed.

But Aang seemed completely okay with her statement.

"What's in it for you?" Lee asked, looking at her with an unreadable expression.

Slightly shaken by his lack of protest —he must truly respect women after all— she answered, "I wanted to leave my island and fight against the Fire Nation. Helping the Water Tribes unite seems like a good place to start."

"Cause trouble and I will leave you in the trees," Lee warned.

"So you'll take me with you?" she asked, shocked at his easy acquiescence but pleased nevertheless.

"Aang?" Lee asked.

"Course you can join us!" the child said with a bright grin.

"Wait," Sokka said. "Why do you trust us? You just met us and you were just trying to kill us!"

She shrugged, sitting back in the saddle. "I like the view."

The truth was, no fishing boat would willingly defy Oyshi by taking her away from the island. She wouldn't know where to go or how to travel on her own. Sure, going with these people was a risk, but everything she had ever heard about the Water Tribes was that they were good people.

If she was going to help anyone, it seemed only right to assist their neighbours first.

oOo

AN: Thoughts, the Unagi, or feedback, pretty please?