So this is a slightly longer chapter than usual.
Flashes of when the Fire Nation last attacked haunted Katara as the massive warship crashed loudly against their frigid shore. She was not alone in experiencing this waking nightmare as all around, her tribe succumbed to chaos and descended into despair.
Children cried as they were ushered away by their mothers to no where they would be safe from what was to come. With no where to run and with no way to feasibly defend themselves, safety was nothing more than a wishful illusion.
Her heart sunk further into the icy depths of despair seeing her brother amidst the calamity, dawned in the Southern Water Tribe's traditional warpaint, attempting to rally his troops. Only the warriors under his command were all boys whose ages had yet to span the double digits, shaking and crying in place in the presence of certain death.
Many were reclaimed by their mothers, leaving Sokka with only a few to take up defensive positions on the walls. They were armed with nothing more than crude spears and rocks as a first and final line of defense.
Death had descended upon the remnants of the Southern Water Tribe that day, and to make it all worse, Katara knew it was all her fault. Their collective worse fears had come to be as a result of her own reckless actions.
Her every instincts and sensibilities warned her not to indulge Aang in boarding the decrepit Fire Nation warship, but at the time she rationalized it with herself as nothing more than her ever present nerves getting in the way of enjoying life. So she did just that, enjoyed herself for the first time in a very long time.
With that lapse in judgment, her own decision, she doomed her entire tribe.
"Katara, where's that freeloader at? Katara!"
She finally snapped out of her own internal self-loathing hysteria to see her brother before her, the paint around his forehead was beginning to streak from sweat, the spear clenched in his right hand shaking. Seeing him in such a state made the surreal situation all that more poignant, cementing to her the very real possibility they were all about to perish.
As the tribe's sole protecter, her brother would be one of the first casualties.
He was going to die, all as a result of her selfishness.
"Katara, are you listening?" Sokka shouted at her. "Where is he?"
"Sokka… I'm… I'm sorry!" Katara hugged her brother tightly. "Please don't go out there! Please don't die!"
"Katara, focus!" Sokka pushed her away from him roughly and held her back an arm's length. "Where is he? Where is the asshole with yellow hair?"
"I," Katara was openly sobbing now, finding it harder to think maintain her composure, much less think clearly. "I don't know."
She looked around numbly to confirm herself Naruto was nowhere to be found.
He was, without a doubt, the strongest and most capable of their tribe and his help would be invaluable. Then again, he really wasn't a part of their tribe. He was unwillingly stranded amongst them. To expect him to lay his life on the line for their sake was selfish.
"I checked his tent but I couldn't find him," Sokka growled. "Probably ran away in the commotion. Bet you feel real smart defending him now, don't you? Great judge of character you've got, Katara. First you save a coward and then you save that stupid kid who's brought the Fire Nation to our doorstep!"
He was at the tail end of her regrets and her brother's words only further despaired her.
"We are here on the behalf of the Fire Nation!" A young male voice called out from just beyond the main gate. "Allow us entry at once or we will result to using force to come in!"
"Shit, they're here," Sokka breathed in anxiously.
He said nothing else as he moved to the walls, peering out a window of ice.
"Sokka," Katara tried to call after him but did not no what else to say. She did not want their argument to be they final words they said to one another, but try as she might, she could not find the words to convey her sorrow and regrets.
But he ignored her as he ascended the wall, stopping to address the tribe, calling for them to make certain the main gate remained shut no matter what happened to him. He locked eyes with her one more time before jumping over the edge.
Katara forced herself to move to the same window.
There were at least twenty men to their one teenaged and largely untrained warrior. Their face masks, seared into her memory, were even more horrifying than in her worse nightmares. Leading them was a young man, unmasked, he appeared no older than her brother, with a scarred face set with a determination that promised only horrors.
For all her desires and demands for equality, Katara only now realized just how unprepared she was for what that entailed. Seeing her brother standing tall before certain death in the form of a Fire Nation war party of men, she was suddenly siphoned of any such a notion, the illusion shattered.
She didn't want him to die, and she herself didn't want to die.
All she could do was cry further.
"We are not here to fight!" The young man declared. "We are only here for the Avatar! Bring him to us and no one will be harmed. Deny us and be prepared to face the consequences!"
The Avatar?
Of all their potential reasons and demands, Katara did not expect to hear mention of the legendary bender of all four elements. Even lost deep in panic, she tried her best to resolve who they could've possibly been referring to.
Her deduction quickly lead her to two suspects.
Naruto and Aang.
The last Avatar was said to have been an air-bender, but that was before he vanished over a hundred years prior. Who had they uncovered, encased deep in a tomb of ice, but a young air-bender claiming to be from the long lost Southern Air Tribe.
Aang was the most likely contender to have been the Avatar, but taking into consideration what little she grew to know of him before his departure, it was just as difficult to believe this to be true.
He was just a boy.
Naruto, on the other hand, had descended from the very sky, displayed superhuman abilities, and maybe even water-bending abilities. From what little she also knew about him, he seemed to epitomize the spirit of a warrior. Strong yet calloused from conflict, he was a man possessing a strength almost palpable without needing be put on display.
Whoever the Avatar truly was, be they either of the aforementioned, she truly didn't know what to believe in that moment.
"Katara!" Kanna appeared at her side. "You must evacuate with the others at once!"
"There's no where to run or hide," Katara uttered, lost in her despair.
She remained rooted in place, eyes focused solely on her brother, wishing, hoping, and even praying for his safety. Kanna, meanwhile, said nothing further, mirroring her granddaughter's worry over her grandson.
"There is no Avatar here! Leave at once!" Sokka demanded, readying his spear.
The apparent leader of the fire-benders motioned his men to stand by as he stepped forward, assuming his own barehanded stance. For a tense moment, both young men stared one another down, both waiting for the other to make the first move.
Sokka broke that contest first.
Katara watched in horror as they both moved forward.
It was no fight.
The fire-bender easily sidestepped Sokka's lunge, using his own momentum against him to disarm him and throw him onto his back. He landed with a thud, dazed and at a loss of breath, all he could do was watch as the fire-bender incinerated his spear he'd taken from him before aiming his fist at him, primed to end his life.
That's when Aang descended from above, pushing the fire-bender back with a burst of air.
"Leave them alone, it's me you're looking for!"
Katara felt a pulse of hope at his appearance, but it was a fleeting sensation. Whether or not he was really the Avatar, first and foremost, he was a child in the presence of men.
"You're the air-bender? You're the Avatar?" The young man was clearly taken aback, incredulous almost, but just as quickly regained his composure and fighting stance. "Surrender at once!"
Aang gripped his staff tightly and presented his own cautious form.
The fire-bender attacked first, launching his fist forward and from it, a bright searing ball of flame erupted, shooting towards Aang at incredible speed. He reacted quickly, dissipating the flame with a wave of his staff, but in doing so, was almost stricken by the bare-fisted attack which followed.
He scarcely avoided the follow up flame laced kick aimed at his face, forcing him on an immediate backpedal beneath the fire-bender's relentless and fierce onslaught. Just as he was almost backed up against the wall, he waved his staff again, briefly kicking up a thick wall of snow, extinguishing the oncoming flame, utilizing the thick steam resulting from this as a moment of reprieve, he produce a strong burst of air from his own fist.
This cleared the battlefield, revealing he'd managed to push the fire-bender back. The moment of respite, unfortunately, was but fleeting as Aang was once more on the defense, with the fire-bender back on the offense, angrier and even more aggressive than ever before.
Despite putting up a valiant effort, the young air-bender's limitations and inexperience were glaring, their fight quickly becoming one of sheer survival, his every reaction growing panicked and frantic. A stray fireball deflected by Aang managed to crash into the wall, immediately crumbling it to reveal the frightening tribespeople within.
"That's enough!" The fire-bender stomped his right foot down, assuming a wider stance, he punched forward with his right fist, producing a steady and powerful torrent of flames from it. He then moved his left fist to join the right, intensifying the flames exponentially.
Aang struggled to keep the flames at bay by twirling his staff desperately, but he was quickly loosing that contest. His feet slid in the rapidly melting snow until he was all that remained between the searing flames and a tribe rooted in place by fear.
Katara wanted to scream but nothing came out seeing another fire-bender rounding the two, poised to strike.
Just as his fist shot forward, there was a brief flash of yellow.
The very same bender was flung roughly against the hull of the ship, denting the very steel itself, he slumped down, falling immediately still. A steady stream of blood emanated from the void in his chest, ponding sickeningly in the white snow beneath.
"Naruto!"
Katara found her voice and with it, a feeling of immense relief.
A feeling that persisted only until she saw the blood staining his own blue fur coat. He also seemed to be swaying in place, eyes half lidded.
Had he been attacked? If so, by what, by who? Had he finally been injured whilst out on a hunt, or were they facing invasion on another front they were yet unaware of?
The leader of the fire-benders utilized the distraction to his favor by performing a powerful rounding back-kick, sending Aang crashing into another section of the wall, gasping for air but unable to find it. The young man did not follow up, however, taking to focusing on the new and clear threat amongst them.
"Identify yourself!" He demanded.
Naruto answered in his native language, his words sounding slurred as he took a clumsy step forward, prompting the fire-bender to take a step back. The full war party, having also realized the danger he presented, moved to assume a defensive semi-circle stance around their leader.
For a tense moment, no one acted.
That was until Naruto momentarily doubled over to vomit.
He groaned, wiping his mouth on his bloodied sleeve, uttering some more words in his mother tongue before vanishing from sight in another blur of speed that erupted the very ground where he once stood. When he reappeared, he'd struck down two more Fire Nation soldiers by grabbing them by their masks, slamming them down into the ground, crushing their very heads, leaving little else behind but twisted steel and brain matter.
Naruto's movements were difficult to trace as he appeared to almost blur out of view, violently kicking up plumes of snow, only to reappear abruptly, far too quickly for any of the fire-benders to react. The battlefield quickly descended into disarray obscured in clouds of steam resulting from wildly cast flames, with only brief flashes of yellow visible to offer up any indication as to his direction and whereabouts.
When he next reappeared, he delivered a devastating side-kick to another of the soldiers, folding the man in half sideways with a sickening crack, sending him tumbling across the snow, leaving only a pink mist and his helmet briefly suspended in the air before falling in place of where he once stood. Naruto offered them but a brief moment of respite, having doubled over again, expunging the contents of his stomach once more in a series of violent and sickening wretches.
Now, even the leader of the men seemed reticent to engage him, frightened even as he placed himself as far back behind his soldiers as possible. They sought to regroup, forming a v-shaped formation around their leader, attempting to work in a more unified front, the tides having turned against them, they were now the ones fighting for survival.
Naruto did not relent, blurring out of existence following an onslaught of more purposefully cast fireballs and streams of flames aimed in his direction. This change in strategy did very little to help them as he ended the lives of three more men with his fists alone. His physical strength and incredible speed proved sufficient enough to shatter armor and devastate their forces, proving him a vastly superior adversary.
It was what he did next that somehow managed to surprise all present even further, and challenge their notion of who the Avatar truly may have been.
His hands blurred in an intricate display of calculated movements, much in the way he did upon his first arrival, before thrusting his palm forward, producing a force of air so powerful it flung all abaft, claiming the life of the one who had received the brunt of the attack. It was a sickening sight to behold, his very insides having been expelled from his body, raining a bloody drizzle upon the invaders.
Many of the remaining Fire Nation soldiers ceased their attacks, taking to cautiously and fearfully retreat, one step at a time. Naruto's fatal focus, however, was now on the leader, and though his arms were at his side, his stance now relaxed, his expression twisted in a grimace laced with a dangerous loathing for those in opposition to him.
He'd become the new face of death.
Their death.
Before he could act against the young fire-bender, his attention was drawn elsewhere. He once more blurred out of existence, only to reappear before the exposed people of the water tribe. His hands blurred before he slammed them on the ground, erecting a wall of earth to protect them all from a scorching stream of flames more powerful than any displayed before, stemming from the ship itself.
"We must retreat at once!" A gruff voice commanded from out of sight.
More fire-benders joined from the deck of the ship, strengthening the wall of flames, and widening the avenues of attack by launching arching fireballs.
Katara could feel the searing heat even from behind Naruto's wall, and that of ice and snow.
"But uncle, we must — "
"Now, Zuko!"
Naruto briefly pulled his hands from the ground to slam them into the wall of earth, expanding it in height and manipulating it to curve astern to protect from above when the ship began launching large molten projectiles from their siege engines to cover their retreat. Everyone watched and helplessly waited as he weathered the blitz, praying in hopes the wall he erected would uphold and withstand the barrage.
Once the onslaught of fire finally subsided, Naruto removed his hands from the wall, only for it to crumble immediately into a large pile of dirt. This revealed the Fire-Nation warship far out in the distance. The once lazy plumes of pitch black smoke bellowing from the main stack of the ship were replaced with roaring flames in their haste to escape.
"Holy shit!"
Sokka's shout broke the tense silence, giving way to cheers of sheer relief from the Southern Water Tribe. Some cried in relief, while others hugged and kissed their children, all were delighted to have survived what many unfortunate souls before them had not.
Katara was stricken with awe and a warmth emanating deep from within her belly she didn't quite realize was there as she stared at Naruto. Heedless to the celebration going on behind him, he remained in place, his sole attention on the ship with his right hand outstretched purposefully at his side.
The cheers were silenced when within the palm of the same hand, a blue ball of energy formed, growing exponentially in scope until it was the size of a small igloo. So large Naruto moved to hold it above his head, where it began to change color, emanating a white glow.
From there Katara had to avert her gaze slightly as it grew brighter yet, surrounded by what appeared to be a swirling vortex almost resembling glowing blades of light. She, along with everyone else, had to cover their ears when it began to emit a screeching sound, kicking up plumes of snow.
Even from where she stood she could feel a presence coming from the massive swirling ball of energy in the form of an unknown sensation in her very soul, much like standing before a roaring fire, its power was radiating, warming almost. But somewhere along the way her awe turned to apprehension in the instinctual understanding of the danger he presented in that very moment.
Naruto reared back, as if to throw it, when abruptly, he did just that.
He threw it.
Only Aang acted first, jumping forward to shoot a concentrated blast at air aimed at his arm, impacting him to send the ball veering from its intended target, crashing into a nearby iceberg.
Unknown to all, those aboard the ship, just like with the remnants of the Southern Water Tribe, Katara especially, watched in a mixture of shock and awe as the ball of energy crashed into the iceberg. It retained its shape for a few moments before expanding vastly to encompass it, leaving nothing of it when it finally vanished from sight, cutting a hole in the very clouds above, and leaving a momentary void in the water below that quickly filled, sending waves crashing violently amongst other nearby icebergs.
A moment later, they were struck by the resulting shockwave, knocking over a few of those unprepared.
"I know I already said this before but, holy shit!"
Although not voiced in such a crude manner, it was a sentiment shared by many. Thankfully, Katara retained the wherewithal to sense the danger lingering ever present.
"Naruto, stop!"
Katara jumped over the crumbled remains of their wall, just in time to put herself between Aang and Naruto, physically pushing against the latter with all her strength. But despite her efforts, it felt as though she was pressing against the side of a solid, unyielding mountain, with her feet sliding until he stopped of his own accord to glare down at the boy.
He continued to speak in his language, sounding just as angry as he appeared, eyes bloodshot. His hot breath smelled horrid, acrid, and undoubtedly of alcohol.
"Why did you stop me?" He seemed to finally recall the language barrier. His few choice words spoken in a deep baritone, and very much threatening.
"You killed them," Aang accused, looking to the bodies of the nine deceased men left abandoned, their blood painting a horrific sight around them. "Why? Why did you have to kill them? I… I couldn't let you kill anymore of them."
"Are you kidding me?" It was not Naruto who said this, but Sokka, who appeared just as angry with the boy. "Question is, why did you stop him from taking them out? Do you even realize what you've done? They'll come back now! And with reinforcements if they hadn't already called for them!"
"It's not right," there were unshed tears in Aang's eyes and his lips were quivering, but he did not back down from either of the young men.
Naruto took one more step forward.
"Naruto, please, look at me" Katara gently framed his face with her hands, subconsciously tracing one of his facial scars with her thumb, briefly drawing his sole attention to herself. "Please listen to me. Don't hurt him. It's over now. It's okay. We're safe. Everyone's safe."
He stared back down at her, the frantic anger on his face slowly falling away, leading back to his default, expressionless reserve.
"Showing the enemy mercy they would not have shown you, will only get you and everyone you care for killed." Naruto ground out, looking back to Aang before pushing past Katara, and thankfully the boy himself, to enter the tribe.
Within the women and children gave him a wide berth, both equally grateful and cautious of him following his display of raw power.
"Naruto, wait!"
Katara had made it all of three strides before her brother grabbed her arm, stopping her.
"Let go of me, Sokka!"
"Katara will you shut up and just listen to me for once!" The gravity in Sokka's demand gave her pause. "Uh, I don't know if you just saw what I just saw, but he took out nine fire-benders and made a whole iceberg disappear! More importantly, he looks pissed. I think maybe we, and by we, I mean you, should give him some space and time to cool off."
"Well I don't know if you just saw what I just saw, but he also just air and earth-bended!" She pulled her arm free of her brother. "I don't care if he's angry, if Aang's the Avatar, then he owes me an explanation!"
"Why do I even bother anymore," Sokka sighed but reluctantly followed after. "Wait, that's right, the bald kid's the Avatar?"
Naruto nearly made it back to his tent, stopping to wretch again. The world around him continued to spin, his head was pounding, and his stomach was in absolute knots.
Presented to him were amongst the many negatives of his indulging in all that sake. His confrontation with those that commanded flames without the use of hand signs only worsened his state of being by adding to the confusion of his current predicament.
He'd taken the giant red flame in the sky as a sign he so desperately wanted to find in order to avoid having to take his own life. A decision that now seemed to have been made by someone else entirely. Shame and regret inflicted him, somehow making him feel even worse than his overindulgence in alcohol ever could.
Though he no longer wanted to take the hardest, yet easiest way out, he was still far from sure of what he needed to do going forward. All he knew was that he had to do something, less oblivion tempt him once more.
"Naruto, wait!"
Katara was at his side with a container of water, which he took from her, perhaps much rougher than he'd intended, and immediately began to down it all. The sickness in his stomach did not subside, but it did help to quell the nausea some.
He always recalled Jiraiya advising him on the prevention to such a sickness being the preemptive consumption of water, preferably along with food. If it was too late for prevention, as was his situation, then it would at the very least help him recover.
One thing Naruto knew for certain, and that was that he would never again drink so much, if nothing else to avoid such a miserable state of being, and an even more dangerous mindset.
"Are you okay? You're acting weird, and you're bleeding," she was looking to his bloodstained furs, with the largest concentration around his chest and arm.
Not all of it belonged to him, and his wounds, despite being self inflicted, were merely surface level as he managed to deflect the blade moments before it could pierce his own heart. But he doubted this was a crucial distinction to make.
"Yes."
She moved in closer to inspect him, far closer than he was comfortable with, with her face filling his entire view with the visage of concern.
"So you're really okay?"
He was not, far from it, in fact.
"Yes."
Her expression morphed from that of concern into a grimace, and then indignation.
"You're breath reeks! Have you been drinking?" Katara didn't ask, but rather she demanded of him.
"Yes."
"Are you serious? We were just attacked by the Fire Nation, and you were off getting drunk!" Katara shouted at, and pushed him. "What the hell is your problem?"
In his continued inebriation, Naruto was caught by surprise and staggered back a few steps.
"Uh, Katara," Sokka seemed as though he wanted to intervene, but did not. "Let's maybe think about what we're doing, yeah?"
"You absolute idiot! You could've been hurt, or worse! But do you care? No!"
"Or not. Yeah, why not keep yelling at the guy who just disappeared a whole iceberg."
Naruto was oddly surprised by the absolute lack of fear the girl before was showing, unlike her brother, who projected it. Whatever retort and feelings of frustration he had were stifled in the face of his own fault. There would be no point in arguing with her, especially when her anger was somewhat founded and her logic sound.
But that wasn't why he did not respond to her.
Although he did not owe her any explanation, he did require answers of his own. For this, he would need to stay his reactions.
He looked past Katara to the tribe elder, who was on approach.
"Earlier, you offered to tell me about this world."
"I did," Kanna intoned. "But I believe I also asked you to tell me more about your situation. After what I've witnessed today, I must admit, I am quite curious."
Naruto regarded the elder for a time, very much aware of the fact Katara, Sokka, now joined by the boy with an arrow on his bare head, all watched on with great interest. Clearly they were just as curious about his circumstances as the elder, but he had no interest in sharing his life's story.
More specifically, he had no interest in reliving his greatest failures.
But an exchange of knowledge seemed fair.
He would only share what was necessary.
"Let us talk."
Naruto, Katara, Sokka, and the boy named Aang all sat around the fire inside the tribe elder's tent. All were listening intently as the woman recounted the sorry state of the world; a world plagued by conquest from the Fire Nation.
A conquest spanning generations, ignited over a hundred years prior. The years that followed were stained with various conflicts. Any and all who apposed the Fire Nation were subjected to untold horrors, from the enslavement of millions, to outright genocide.
As the elder told it, it would only be a matter of time before this conquest reached it's crescendo, subjugating all nations to the rule of a single tyrannical power. Even in a foreign land, possibly another world entirely, human nature and its depravity was steadfast and without limitation.
Naruto was disturbed, disgusted, and infuriated by what he learned. Especially when hearing the Fire Nation's justification for such barbarism ultimately being worldwide unification in the name of peace.
Sokka, it seemed, was of a similar mind. His arms were crossed, head down, eyes unfocused with a glower.
Katara, meanwhile, remained desolate throughout the retelling.
The current state of worldly affairs, however, seemed to resonate with Aang most of all.
He broadly projected a myriad of emotions, the most prominent of which being guilt.
Naruto was stricken by the sudden realization that the elder's explanation was not only meant for him.
He was given little time to ponder this, however, as Kanna proceeded to describe to him in particular, the concept of benders.
It was a distinction given to humans born with the ability to manipulate the very elements to their will. Fire, water, earth, and air. Their control over nature, however, was limited only to a single element, and not everyone was born with such capabilities.
Spanning as far back as their history was recorded, these benders had splintered off to create nations comprised primarily of people born with the same element. There were, however, brief periods in which peace persisted, and with it the intermingling of those with differing elements.
Ultimately, nationality begot attempted supremacy, inevitably leading to conflict.
Kanna, who did not pause to allow questions, answered one of his own before he could present it by informing him of the only being capable of wielding more than one element.
The Avatar
The Avatar was a being charged with the responsibility of ensuring true, if momentary, peace.
This came to be through the process of reincarnation. With each passing generation, the Avatar was reborn to one primary affinity, and as such, one primary nation. Given their ability to wield all four elements, it became their duty to uphold the peace and balance between every great nation.
There was without a doubt more to the current world than Naruto could have ever anticipated, leaving him almost overwhelmed by it all. Especially because this newfound information all but confirmed he was no longer anywhere in the Elemental Nations.
Kanna concluded her exposition by informing him of the reason behind the latest break in balance. The previous iteration of the Avatar had disappeared nearly one hundred years prior and had yet to make their reappearance, allowing the Fire Nation to act unabated.
Naruto did not miss how Katara, Sokka, and even Kanna's attention all strayed to the young boy, who himself seemed to further shrink into himself. Their combined micro-messages allowed him to make the connection almost immediately.
Aang was the Avatar.
This was knowledge the others already seemed privy to, as confirmed by Sokka.
"Wait, I thought there could only be one Avatar at a time?" Sokka scrutinized Aang before regarding Naruto. "I'm pretty sure we all saw him use air-bending, earth-bending, and possibly even water-bending. Only thing missing is fire-bending."
Naruto executed a series of deliberately slow hand-signs, finishing by holding his middle and index fingers to his mouth and breathed a controlled stream of flames into the fire already warming the tent. It was a severely underpowered version of the Great Fire Ball technique.
Acquiring Six Path's Sage mode had gifted him the ability to utilize all elements as though they were his primary affinity. Unfortunately, with how recent he was granted this ascended form of Senjutsu, he knew very little other techniques beyond that of his primary affinity, and those he could recall from memory alone.
This did not amount to many.
"So you're the real Avatar?" Katara gasped with hands clasped together. The adoration and hope in which she regarded him with made him feel uncomfortable, and even the slightest reluctant to crush her expectations.
She missed Aang's own crestfallen expression entirely.
"No."
With the obvious exception of the aforementioned young boy, everyone, even Kanna, shared a confused expression.
"But we just saw you bend all four elements!" Katara's statement sounded more like an accusation.
"Well, except for water," Sokka was quick to add. "Unless you count that whole walking on water thing."
"I can use that element as well."
"Then how are you not the Avatar?" Katara was persistent, only now she appeared disillusioned with him. "How can you just deny it?"
"Because I am not the Avatar," Naruto stated.
"Then who were those Fire-Nation freaks looking for?" Sokka questioned.
"You already know the answer to that," Naruto looked to Aang.
All at once, the sibling's attention snapped to him as well, displaying almost identical looks of realization founded in remembrance.
"Yeah, I'm the Avatar," Aang admitted weakly and with indisputable shame written on his face. "Though I only know how to air-bend right now," his expression immediately brightened, looking to Naruto. "Wait, you can bend all four elements, right? That means you can help me master them all too!"
"No."
His face fell immediately.
"Why not?"
"Because I do not know how to bend the elements," Naruto struggled to find a way to explain himself as briefly as possible. "At least not in the way you do."
He briefly thought back to his battle with the fire-benders, he now realized they were called, and how they conjured flames without the use of hand-signs. Although he could utilize certain wind-style techniques without the use of hand-signs, he doubted their abilities were the same.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Katara was beginning to show signs of frustration brewing within. She crossed her arms with an expression somewhere between a glare and a pout. "Are you saying you can't teach us how to bend, or are you saying you won't?"
"I do not think I can," Naruto said, meeting her eyes directly. "Even if I could, my ability to utilize the elements is not even my primary method of combat. I would have nothing to teach you."
"Ooh, so what is? I bet you have a bunch of cool weapons like the ones we saw that day!" Sokka, oblivious to his sister's rising ire, was practically salivating at this possibility. "Could you show me how to fight with a sword? I've always wanted to use a sword!"
"No."
Sokka, like Aang before him, deflated immediately. "Man, is that all you can say?"
"I do not fight with swords," Naruto explicated.
"Yeah, not what I meant."
"Then how do you usually fight?" Katara remained unconvinced. "How are you so fast? How are you so strong? What was that big ball of light you threw earlier? What do you call that, huh?"
"I fight with my fists."
"Okay, as cool as that kinda sounded, what even is that supposed to mean?" Sokka questioned next. "You can't pretend you didn't do all that fancy stuff earlier. You also just admitted you can use all the elements."
Naruto sighed, realizing he could no longer avoid explaining himself any further. To continue denying them one would prove to be troublesome knowing they'd only keep inquiring. Beyond that, he felt he owed them that much at least, especially after Kanna had offered him so much insight, and expressly because Katara saved his life.
"To explain that, I will have to explain where I come from."
He did just that, to the best of his limited abilities and despite his lingering inebriation.
Just like with Kanna before him, he spoke of his world without much interruption following a stern look from the tribe elder, which hushed both her grandson and Aang. He presented to them as much detail of the Elemental Nations and its inhabitants as he was able in a fleeting hope the elder may have heard of his home.
Judging by her own unfettered wonder and awe, she did not.
He persisted regardless.
Although his own understanding surrounding the history of his own world was shamefully limited with how little he paid attention during his time on the academy. Nevertheless, he did his best to extrapolate what he could from his experience during the war to fill the gaps in knowledge.
Next he explained to them the concept of Shinobi. Only he did so with much more brevity than Kanna had when speaking of benders. This was in parts due to his continued struggles with language, and because he could very well speak for hours on this subject.
He did make it a point to briefly go into a Shinobi's abilities, and just how they vastly varied by individual and discipline. This was to dispel any remaining notion of his being the Avatar, as well as to explain why he couldn't teach them how to control the elements in the way he was able.
In truth, Naruto did not know for certain whether or not their abilities were similar.
"That's amazing," Katara, who'd been listening most intently of all, was the first to speak when he came to an obvious stopping point. Although her enthuse didn't endure very long, giving way to reluctance. "So, how did you end up here?"
Naruto was far more reluctant in relaying this information.
"There was a war."
He was much more reticent about going into what he considered to be unnecessary details and omitted any mentions of the Tailed beasts entirely. With these personal perimeters established, he recounted what little he did know, pulled solely from the battles he was personally engaged in against the ambitions of a God and a delusional Shinobi out of time.
His final confrontation with Sasuke was presented as one against an adversary like any other as apposed to the betrayal of who he considered his best friend.
A brother.
No one seemed to have had a follow up question for him after his recounting, with everyone having fallen into sorrowful contemplation. Albeit their experiences were undoubtedly different, it was evident they all shared in the misery war inflicted.
"I assume you do not know of the Elemental Nations?" Naruto asked of the tribe elder.
"I'm afraid not," Kanna admitted demurely. "Although I cannot claim to know of everything within this world of ours, I can tell you with certainty no such place exists in any of the Nations. I am truly sorry, young man."
Naruto's head fell, having already anticipated such a response, he was nevertheless disheartened at the confirmation.
"Naruto, I'm… I," Katara sounded unsure of what she wanted to say. "What're you going to do now?"
It was the obvious question.
One he had an answer to, just not an immediate solution for.
"I will find a way home. But I cannot do that here. I must leave."
This announcement was met with varying reactions.
"We understand," Kanna inclined her head respectfully. "And we will do everything we can to aid you in doing so as a thanks for coming to our aid."
Naruto mirrored the gesture.
Katara appeared downcast but attempted a smile nevertheless.
Aang was lost in his own thoughts.
"We do?" Sokka, on the other hand, was taken aback with disbelief. "We are? Look, now that the Fire Nation knows the Avatar's here, they'll send more troops to take him. Is it really a good idea to let him leave right now?"
Naruto did not agree with what he said, but he certainly understood why he was of such a mind. Because of this, he stayed his reaction.
Katara did not.
"Sokka! We can't exactly force him to stay either!" She was quick to argue for him. "It's not fair for us to use him just for our protection!"
"Well maybe we wouldn't have to if someone," he placed extra emphasis on the word, glancing purposefully between his sister and Aang, "didn't go and bring the Fire Nation to our doorstep!"
"I already told you it's not his fault!" Katara argued.
"Oh yeah, then who's fault is it? Remind me again who set off that flare?" Sokka question sarcastically.
Aang shrunk into himself.
"We've already been over this before! We both did!" Katara stood up, shouting now. "Are you going to blame me too?"
"Well, since you're admitting it!" Sokka stood to match her intensity.
"Why are you being such a jerk right now, Sokka?"
"And why are you being so childish, Katara!"
"Enough!" Kanna only had to raise her voice slightly to silence them immediately. "The both of you! What is done is done. There is no sense in arguing about who is to blame now."
"No, it's my fault." Aang was next to rise. "And it's me they're after. I'll leave."
"No, Aang, you really don't have to," Katara attempted to comfort him.
Naruto watched the display intently.
Her unwavering compassion for all continued to astound him.
"This again," Sokka rolled his eyes. "Well, as brave and touching a notion as that is, I doubt it really matters whether you stay or go."
"What're you on about now?" Katara huffed.
"The Fire Nation will assume he is still here," Naruto surmised. "They will be coming here even if he leaves. When they do return, it will be with a larger force."
"Exactly!" Sokka motioned in his direction but he continued to address his sister and the boy. "The way I see it, stay or go, you couldn't even take down one fire-bender! Some Avatar you turned out to be! And if Nar-toe leaves, we're royally screwed!"
Both Aang and Katara were stricken with this realization at once.
They were truly in a horrible predicament.
"You must move your encampment," Naruto advised, speaking to the tribe elder. "As far from here as possible. At least until it is clear the Avatar is no longer within your tribe. Although they may still come in search of information."
"Our tribe is located near the water's edge because of what the sea can offer us," Kanna stated grimly. "If we move further inland, we face starvation and predation. Even then, I suspect they would find us eventually."
"Katara, I'm so sorry," Aang, having come to understand the extent of their situation, apologized profoundly.
This time, Katara didn't have a response.
Everyone remained in a sullen silence for a time.
During that moment of reflection, Naruto was left to contend with a sense of empathy he found nagging for the first time in his life. Although logically the Southern Water Tribe were not his responsibility, he couldn't exactly reconcile that with himself emotionally.
There was no mistaken he was no longer the same person he was before Sasuke betrayed him, his earlier severe lapse in judgment proved this, but neither could he delude himself into believing he didn't care. The abuse of the weak by those more powerful always irked Naruto, and that was a sentiment that persisted even now.
But the fact remained he couldn't stay to protect them simply because that may very well end up being a lifelong commitment. He had his own life to return to, or at the very least attempt to.
That didn't mean he couldn't lend a helping hand in the meantime.
"I will help with the relocation. Maybe not inland, but you must move your camp," Naruto announced, immediately garnering the attention of all. "Also, the Avatar must leave."
"Yeah!" Sokka was quick to agree, interrupting him before he could continue. "What he said!"
"Naruto, how could you?" Katara's eyes were already bleary and the added accusation and simultaneous disappointment directed at him almost made him recoil. "We can't just kick Aang out because we're scared! We didn't kick you out, and believe me, they wanted to do worse!"
Sokka palmed the back of his head while his grandmother's eyes fell.
Naruto immediately understood what she was referring to, but he didn't exactly hold that against them, especially now.
"No, Katara, he's right," Aang said before she could argue further in his defense. "This is all my fault, and I've already avoided my responsibility as the Avatar for far too long. If I'm going to stop this war, I need to learn to master the other elements. I just can't do that here. One way or another, I have to leave."
"Aang," Katara intoned.
Naruto both sympathized with the boy, and respected him for willingly choosing to accept a responsibility forced upon him from birth. It was not easy to assume such burden, especially one of such monumental consequences and undertaking, and especially at such a young age.
No one person should have to endure that, at the very least alone. He saw some of himself in Aang then, and that wasn't exactly a good thing.
He was young and innocent, far too innocent and ignorantly virtuous. Although that was by no fault of his own, as he was currently, the true ways of the world would end up consuming him if he was not careful. If that happened, the same world may very well end up plunged in enduring suffering.
It may not have been his world, much less his problem, but he could at the very least help prepare Aang for his tumultuous journey ahead. After all, it could very well be years before he found a way back.
That was assuming it was even possible to return.
In the meantime, he simply could not ignore the suffering of others.
"If I am to find a way home, I will have to travel this world in search of a way to do that," Naruto announced. "I will accompany the Avatar. At least for a time, and as long as it does not interfere with my goals."
"You will?" Aang appeared both hopeful and moved hearing this, erupting in a large smile seeing him nod in response.
Having gone through most of his life alone in this responsibility, he only wished he had someone to lead him along the way. And when he did finally find that person in Jiraiya, all he wanted was for more time. Although he wasn't looking to achieve the appellation of mentor or master, he was willing to try and guide him to the best of his abilities.
"I'm going too!" Katara abruptly announced.
"No you aren't!" Sokka immediately denied. "Katara are you crazy? And you, Nar-two —
"It's Naruto, you idiot! Na-ru-to!" Katara corrected him.
"Whatever!" Sokka threw his arms up. "Didn't you say you would help us?"
"I — " Naruto started, but Katara's fury had not abated.
"I'm going, Sokka, and I don't need your permission! If Aang's going to learn how to bend, then so am I!" She argued with conviction. "Gran-Gran, you understand, don't you? This is something I have to do! Besides, if Naruto's going, then I'll be safe."
Kanna remained deep in consideration.
"Katara, I don't know if you should leave your family like this," Aang suggested anxiously.
"Aang, I'm doing this for them," Katara continued to regard her grandmother, who it seems, she was really trying to convince. "Don't you see? If we continue to sit here and do nothing, that's how the Fire Nation wins! Now that the Avatar's back, it's time we took the fight to them!"
"What do you think dad's out there doing right now!" Sokka was very angry now. "And what is it exactly you think you'd be able to do? You're just one girl!"
"That's my point exactly! Maybe you're content with just sitting here, doing nothing, but I'm not!"
"Is that what you think I'm doing?" Sokka appeared truly hurt by her words. "Dad put me in charge of protecting you! Protecting everyone! You might not think that's nothing, but to me, it's everything!"
His words seemed to have an effect on Katara, the most prominent being regret, but neither did she seem willing to back down.
In the silence that followed, all that could be heard was the crackling of the fire.
"That's enough, you two," Kanna finally spoke, and she did so with a smile.
"Gran-Gran?" Katara looked confused, an expression mirrored by her brother.
"You've both grown up so much in these hard years. I'm proud of you both of you," she continued to speak cryptically.
Naruto shared a look of uncertainty with Aang, the other outsider in this family squabble. They shrugged at one another, both silently agreeing to simply watch and wait to see where the conversation was leading.
"What're you saying, Gran-Gran?" Sokka questioned.
"I'm saying you're both right, in your own ways," Kanna smiled at them. "Katara is correct in her conviction. She cannot learn what she needs to learn if she were to stay here. And you, Sokka, have done an amazing job in protecting us. I can only hope you'll continue to protect your sister on her journey."
"But I can't just leave the tribe undefended! Not now!" Sokka tried to argue.
"You will not have to," Naruto, ceasing his moment to finally speak, decided to present his hitherto unspoken plan. Before anyone could ask him to elaborate, he formed the unique hand-sign required of a Shadow-Clone, creating a single copy of himself, which materialized standing behind him.
Everyone in the tent jumped.
"There's two of you!" Sokka stated the obvious.
"So cool!" Aang was once more behaving his age. "Can you teach me how to do that?"
"No."
"Awe," he immediately deflated.
"W-What is that?" Katara looked between the two, as if trying to find the difference. "He looks just like you!"
"That is because I am him," the clone took the initiative to speak.
"It can talk too!" Sokka exclaimed.
"Yes. I can create many copies of myself. It is called the Shadow-Clone technique," he struggled to translate the name. "It has my strength and my abilities. But if it gets hit once, it will disappear."
Sokka cautiously poked his clone, only to quickly shift away to stand behind Aang when he received a glare for his efforts.
"I will leave a few clones with your tribe, to help them relocate and to protect you. However, I do not know how long they will last. It is not something I have tried before," Naruto explained.
"That's amazing! Thank you so much, Naruto!" Katara detached herself from her grandmother to run up to him, only to stop short once she realized what she was doing.
She averted her eyes, with Naruto doing the same, neither knowing what to say or do next.
He settled for a nod.
"So uh, how many of them can you make?" Sokka asked.
"I can…" He stopped himself short of admitting he could make near thousands without so much as breaking a sweat, but that was when he had his friends chakra to rely on. He wasn't sure how many he could make now, but the number likely remained in the hundreds. "I can make at least fifty, maybe more if needed."
Without having to constantly suppress Kurama's chakra from surfacing, he could feel his own personal reserves nearly doubled. In a conflicting turn of events, his control over his own chakra had also increased exponentially, expending far less chakra than before required when deploying a technique.
With the exception of the Shadow-Clone, of course.
"With that many you's running around, we can definitely take the fight to the Fire-Nation!" Sokka was very much ardent but not for very long.
"No."
The mood in the room plummeted.
"I will help protect the Avatar on his journey as long as it helps me find my own answers. But I will not fight your war." Naruto was resolved to make his intentions clear.
Although he was willing to help where able, he would not partake in another conflict, especially one that was not his own. He could not afford such a distraction.
More important of all, he was tired of fighting, or rather, he had no interest in doing so further.
"What? Why not? You could easily — "
"Sokka!" Kanna stared him down. "Stay your tongue, grandson. Naruto is well within his right to make his own decisions. Be grateful he is already helping us as much as he is."
Sokka appeared ready to argue the matter further, but his grandmother's presence brokered no disagreement. Instead, he merely huffed, uttering something about preparations, before storming out of the tent.
"I apologize for my grandson's behavior," Kanna bowed to him once more. "I would also like to formally thank you on behalf of our tribe for your generosity."
"I will begin preparations as well," Naruto returned the gesture antecedently, standing himself. "I will also leave you with this scroll," he unsealed a rather large scroll from one of the many obscured seals in his arm. "To open it, you will need to trace your blood along one of three seals. I will configure the seal to you before we depart."
"It's just like the one you used before," Katara observed. "How does it work?"
"I will explain at a later time," Naruto said, in parts to avoid admitting he himself didn't know beyond a rudimentary understanding. He didn't make the scroll. It had been given to him by the toads, having once belonged to Jiraiya.
It was an altered version of the reverse summoning scroll he deployed in his battle against Nagato. Instead of summoning clones from Mount Moboku, it would retain his clones in a state of suspended animation, all within a pocket dimension, much like a sealing scroll.
"What does it contain?" Kanna asked curiously.
"Right now, nothing. But I will leave three copies of myself sealed within. Should the need arise, you are to unseal them, one at a time as needed. They will be far more powerful than the others, so I would not use this unless absolutely necessary," Naruto advised, pointing to each individual seal located within the scroll.
At his side, two more clones materialized, all seated in the lotus position. The clone he materialized before, having understood his intentions, joined them in sitting.
"What are they doing?"
"They are gathering nature chakra."
"Chakra?" Katara repeated the foreign word slowly. "That's the same energy you said your people use to power their abilities."
"Yes."
"So, Naruto, I know this is kinda neither here nor there, but, uh," Katara was rather bashful then. "Were there women Shinobi too?"
Her excellent pronunciation of words in his language continued to astound him.
"Yes?" Naruto was admittedly confused by the question. "Only they are called Kunoichi, while the men are called Shinobi."
"So you're telling me women are allowed to fight alongside the men?" Now, she appeared eager.
"Yes. I know — I knew many strong Kunoichi," Naruto briefly allowed himself to think about Hinata, Sakura, and Tsunade.
He hoped they were well.
He missed them all so very much.
Satisfied with his response, Katara was all smiles.
"So then, what's nature chakra?" Aang asked.
It was obvious Aang had been listening.
"It is the chakra found in nature itself. I can momentarily claim it to strengthen myself," amongst other augmentations, but Naruto decided to keep that to himself, less he ask to be taught that as well. An attempted effort in vein.
"So cool!" Aang was practically dancing in place. "I gotta learn how to do that."
"No."
"Awe," Aang once more deflated.
Naruto shut his eyes, stricken with a sudden realization such interactions would undoubtedly become common in the coming days.
The next day brought a world of change for Katara.
Naruto did not exaggerate when he said he could create multiple copies of himself. It made for quite a shocking sight to her tribe and even for Katara herself, witnessing that many of him moving about, helping them in initiating the relocation effort.
Katara smiled subconsciously at all the interactions occurring all around her.
For as brunt and downright crass as Naruto could be, he proved incredibly respectful towards the woman, and downright gentle with the children. Even in the underlying sense of precipitancy ever present, he helped where could, his clones taking to carrying their supplies, and even the young and elderly alike.
It was, perhaps, too soon to judge his character, but Katara couldn't help but believe him to be a kind soul beneath all that gruff and underlying despondence. It was pure conjecture whether or not he even realized it himself.
But alongside that kind soul existed a dark presence.
Katara bore witness to it personified in his confrontation with the Fire-Nation's benders. His wild and ferocious eyes haunted her even now. She feared what would have become of Aang had she not intervened, and had he not the wherewithal to recognize they were not his enemies.
Howbeit she felt as though she'd made some progress in getting to understand and know Naruto, and even with a solid supposition of what haunted him, exactly what she could do to elevate his demons was very much up in the air. How Katara wished she could see him smile again the way he did that night, and it anguished her beyond comprehension not knowing how to accomplish this.
Yet, she was hopeful, now that they would be traveling together for a time, she would find a way to help him. In fact, it was something of a personal promise to herself, and a goal to see the light return to his eyes, the smile to his face, and to see him return home to his loved ones.
As her grandmother stated, his being would be a reflection of her. Naruto was his own person, of course, just as much as Katara herself, and anyone else for that matter, but with that came a sense of responsibility she did not exactly feel burdened with.
"It's quite the sight, isn't it?"
This time Katara had not been jolted by her surprisingly adept grandmother's stealthy at her side.
"Yeah," she agreed idly.
Kanna smiled at her.
"You sure do know how to pick them, granddaughter."
"Huh?" This managed to pull Katara's attention from Naruto to her, not only because she wasn't entirely certain she'd heard correctly, but if she had, she didn't exactly understand what that was supposed to mean.
"You have an excellent judge of character," Kanna's smile widened, deepening to reveal the expression lines around her eyes. "First you save Naruto, and then the Avatar. Quite a set of accomplishments, certainly, but I know deep down they will not be your greatest, Katara. Although the future is far from certain, I can't help but believe you'll do great things."
"Oh, well, thank you, Gran-Gran," Katara felt her face warm in her praise. Yet, as happy as she was in that moment, neither could she deny the melancholy that weighed her down.
Soon, she would be leaving her tribe for the first time in her life to plunge head first into a journey into the unknown. As excited as Katara was for what was to come, to accomplish this meant leaving behind the only life she'd ever known.
"Fret not, granddaughter," Kanna pulled her into a hug. "For this is not goodbye. I know you will return to us one day, a proud water-bender of the Southern Water Tribe."
"I'm going to miss you, Gran-Gran. I'm going to miss all of you," Katara was now on the verge of tears. This much she could admit to, but what she could not reveal to her grandmother, or anyone really, was just how scared she truly was in that moment.
"And I you, Katara, but to grow you must move forward," Kanna pulled back with a smile, patting her cheek tenderly, she presented to her a pack. "Here, take this with you. It's some rations. Although I'm certain Naruto already has some for you all, consider this a little taste of home."
"Thank you, Gran-Gran," Katara said as she tossed the satchel over her shoulder, wiping away at her eyes.
"Of course. Just promise me you'll be careful on your journey. And that you'll keep that brother of your's out of trouble, now," Kanna added playfully.
Katara giggled and wiped her tears now freely trailing down her face before hugging her grandmother once more.
"I will, I promise."
Soon all the preparations were complete and she, along with Naruto, Sokka, and Aang at the reigns, were atop Appa, ready to depart. Gathered to see them off was the entirety of the tribe.
"Well, this is it," Katara muttered, unable to keep her voice steady.
"Yeah," Sokka agreed, just as nervously.
Together, they shared in their uncertainty and equal parts excitement.
"Alright, let's go!" Aang shouted excitedly. "Appa, yip-yip!"
With a rumbling bellow, the great beast took flight.
"Be safe, my precious grandchildren!" Kanna called to them, waving amidst everyone else doing the same.
Just like that, they ascended expeditiously, high above the very clouds themselves.
Katara continued waving until she could no longer see her family, and even longer beyond that.
"Damn, we're kinda high up, aren't we?" Sokka muttered as he laid flat against the walls of the saddle.
Katara sighed wistfully, her focus remaining down below despite seeing little beneath the cloud coverage beyond a wide expanse of the deep blue sea. Her anxiousness persisted at what was to come. Yet, alongside her brother, a friend in Aang, and Naruto to watch over them all, her excitement shown through in the form of a blooming smile.
Her journey to become a full fledged water-bender had just begun.
"Go in that direction," Naruto instructed Aang.
"What? But the Southern Air Temple's that way," Aang pointed north in opposition to Naruto's indication of western travel. "I think."
"Yes, but that is the direction in which the ship departed."
Katara looked between the two cautiously, sensing something unpleasant stirring within.
"No! We're not killing them!" Aang immediately denied with an austere frown.
Naruto's own expression was that of frustration despite remaining mostly stoic. "That is not what I intended."
Aang did not appear all too convinced of this.
"Why not?" Sokka questioned, clearly eager for him to carry out what he'd initially tried to do.
Katara herself was uncertain on how she felt about the act of taking a life. There was no denying the Fire Nation would have killed them given the chance, and without so much as a second thought. Despite this, she didn't know if she could do the same if it came to it.
And it may one day soon come to that.
With that established and understood, she still didn't like the idea of Naruto taking so many lives, all at once, should he unleash another of whatever that attack was from before.
"We need them to know we are no longer at the Water Tribe as soon as possible. If we wait until you make your appearance in another land, they may have already dispatched more soldiers. And if we kill them, then they will not signal to the others of your departure," Naruto explained.
"Oh," Aang relented, if reluctantly and as though he didn't quite believe him, adjusting their direction of travel. "Right. Makes sense, I guess."
"Good idea," Sokka praised. "Say, Naruto, were you some sort of master tactician where you're from? A general, maybe?"
"No."
"Ah, okay then."
Naruto crossed his legs, shut his eyes, and intertwined his fingers in his lap. He remained like this for a time.
Katara recognized this to be the same form he assumed when gathering that external energy he mentioned previously. This, admittedly, made her nervous of his true intentions considering he mentioned he used that same energy to strengthen himself.
Was he going to kill them after all?
"Uh, you going to sleep or something?" Sokka asked and when he didn't receive a response, frowned with arms crossed, leaning over to whisper to her. "Jeez, he's not much of a conversationalist, is he?"
"Shut up, Sokka."
Zuko was anxious.
It was a feeling he was all too familiar with since as far back as memory allowed, amplified exponentially following his exile on a mission to accomplish the near impossible. That was until the impossible occurred and he'd finally located the Avatar.
Alongside his near crippling anxiety also existed the nearly forgotten sensation of hope. The hope his long and arduous journey was nearing its end. With the reappearance of the Avatar came the very real possibility of returning home with his honor restored.
The Avatar may have managed to escape his grasp once, but Zuko would see to it that it would never happen again. Thus, his current state of meditation within his private quarters, taken to compose himself as well as to plan his next course of action.
Thus his current predicament and the reason for his need to meditate.
They knew the current location of the Avatar, but what Zuko didn't know was exactly how he was supposed to proceed following such an utterly humiliating forced retreat.
A gentle knock on the steel wall of his room. Zuko needn't open his eyes nor inquire to know it was his uncle Iroh. Those under his command knew better than to disturb his ruminations.
"I can see you're deep in thought, nephew."
His quarters were illuminated solely by the ten candles surrounding him, their flames breathing in sync with his own. Only they all flared angrily at his uncle's arrival, puppeteering his inner feelings.
"Uncle."
There was no hiding his spite despite having uttered a single word.
Iroh sighed a deep and exhausted sigh.
"I realize you may be angry with me, but you must understand the danger that young man presented you. To think the Southern Water Tribe of all places had such a capable warrior in their midst," there was almost veneration in his words, further embittering Zuko.
"I had it under control!"
Fire erupted brighter than ever before from the candles, rapidly exhausting them until there was no more wax nor wick to maintain them alit.
"You saw it for yourself," Iroh remained composed despite the display, further frustrating Zuko. "That man and his abilities are not to be taken lightly. He alone savaged and killed nine of your men with little effort. I fear what he would have done to you had I not intervened."
For all his elevated frustrations, Zuko could not delude himself into denying his uncle's words, much less his reasoning.
The man with yellow hair, whoever he may be, was a monster. Even now he could not forget, nor could he entirely shake the instinctual dread he experienced in his presence. It was a fear Zuko experienced only once before. Death had come for him in much the way it had the day he dared question his father's motives. If not for his uncle's intervention, twice now, he would have met with it.
As difficult as it was for him to admit, let alone acknowledge this, Zuko knew it to be true regardless.
"The last Avatar was said to have been an air-bender," Zuko opened his eyes to look to his uncle. "But is it possible that man we encountered is the new Avatar?"
"In all honesty, I do not know," Iroh admitted. "The previous Avatar was most definitely an air-bender, born into the Southern Air Tribe. There is no doubt in my mind that young boy you first encountered was an air-bender, from that very tribe, no less. But neither can we ignore the abilities that young man displayed. If I am to be honest with you, I do not know what to believe."
Zuko was of a similar mind.
"It has been well over a hundred years since the Avatar disappeared," he said, more to himself than to his uncle. "Perhaps we were searching for the wrong person this entire time?"
"It certainly is a possibility," Iroh acknowledged after some consideration. "Much can happen in such a time, much can change. It is entirely conceivable we have been chasing ghosts, unaware of a new threat on the horizon."
"He did air and earth-bend, but that child claimed to be the Avatar. Do you believe this may be some diversionary tactic to throw us off the real Avatar's trail?" Zuko looked to his uncle for guidance and reaffirm his suspicions.
"Perhaps," this time, it was Iroh who shut his eyes to think. "Although little beyond speculation to go off of, I do not think it wise to rush to any conclusions, Prince Zuko."
Zuko almost grimaced at hearing that particular title. One he didn't even believe himself worthy or capable of holding, at least not before having foremost reclaimed his honor. A title he despised hearing from his uncle of all people, most of all.
"What should we do, uncle?"
"That is the question indeed," Iroh opened his eyes to look directly into his nephew's own. There was no trace of his usual jest to be found in them. "But one thing I do advise is that we must be careful if we are to pursue either of them."
"What do you mean?" Zuko asked despite knowing his own version of the answer. Still, he was curious as to his uncle's insights and potential solutions to his predicament.
"That man is a warrior, well and truly so," Iroh looked down, haunted by past horrors he'd much sooner forget, but could not. "And a most dangerous one indeed. Beyond the abilities he displayed, there was conviction in his eyes. That, Prince Zuko, above anything else, is the most dangerous quality in an adversary. Had we not retreated when we did, I've no doubt he would have ended your life, and possibly all of ours as well."
His words were anything but hyperbolic, of this Zuko knew with full certainty. This understanding brokered an uneasy feeling in the exiled prince, knowing this man, be he the Avatar or not, could prove to be a dangerous adversary. This was, of course, a possibility he anticipated, but was wholly unprepared for when presented to him.
Even now he paled at thinking of what would have became of them had that mass of energy struck them.
"If he really is the Avatar, do you think we would be able to capture him?" Zuko questioned. That had been his intention all along, but such plans may requiring altering given the situation at hand.
"Capture?" Iroh was grooming his beard in contemplation. "I suppose it is not impossible. After all, nothing truly is, but I'm afraid that will prove a rather difficult task. At least it will be without calling for reinforcements," he said, looking to his nephew with an expression that spoke volumes.
They both knew what that would entail; the complete forfeiture of his honor.
"Then we may have to settle for destroying him," Zuko attempted to steady his resolve, but the notion made his stomach shrink beneath a myriad of emotions.
Iroh frowned, but not out of any sense of resentment or disappointment, and before they could continue their conversation any further, the alarm horn sounded off twice before an explosion rocked their ship.
A little exposition heavy chapter but there it is.
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