The ground exploded as a large fireball struck it, leaving large burn marks where Azula had been previously standing. The young girl was unshaken as she retaliated with several fire-powered kicks before swiping her feet and creating a ring of fire which caused Zuko to take refuge a few feet in the air. The older boy landed nimbly on his feet and struck two jets of fire towards Azula who dodged before attacking again.

Sakura watched in muted fascination as the two royals practiced their fire bending in an unauthorized Agni Kai. It had been four months since she met Zuko and three months he recognized her as his friend. Azula looked cool as her face never showed any expression but Zuko looked cooler, his face just as intense as the flames he was producing. She wasn't sure if it was the heat from their fire bending or her layered robes which covered her form entirely under the flaming sun but Sakura was hot and thirsty and was ready to drop in exhaustion. But the two Fire Nation royals had chosen her as their referee and she didn't find it within her to refuse especially since Zuko had asked nicely.

"Already tired dear brother?"

For a ten year old girl, Azula sure didn't sound like one. Even if she referred to Zuko as her older brother, it was more like mocking than actual respect.

Zuko wiped the sweat off his brow and glared at the young princess who was smirking. "I'm not tired, I was just getting started," he bit out. Azula laughed and she had a look that had Sakura wondering if she was actually sane. "There's a new move I've been meaning to try. I'd like to test it on you, if you don't mind," she told him with a sweet smile. Zuko rolled his eyes at that. "You've never asked before even when you torched my butt the last time," he grumbled as he went into a defensive stance.

Sakura could feel the charged particles start to come together as Azula began moving her hands. Being a Chi bender meant she was well versed in any shift in Chi in the atmosphere. Small sparks of lightning started to form around her and Zuko's shocked face matched hers perfectly. 'She's going to bend lightning at him,' she thought as she remained rooted to the spot. She's going to bend lightning at him!

The reality of the situation set in as Azula moved her hands in a circular motion, the lightning increasing in intensity. A scream ripped from Sakura's throat as she declared the end of the match. Things took for a worse turn after that. Azula lost her focus and posture, losing her form entirely as the electricity wasn't directed outwards, instead she electrocuted herself. Both Zuko and Sakura gasped in shock as Azula let out a shrill cry of pain, sparks of electricity flowing through her trembling figure which dropped to the ground in a boneless heap. "Azula!" the two shouted as they ran over to her.

Despite being the farthest away from her, Sakura was the first to reach her. She slowly turned her over, taking note of the laceration burn marks that covered her exposed skin which was an ugly red. "Can you help her?" Zuko asked, eyes teary as he watched his younger sister contort her face in pain. "I'll try," she croaked out as she laid her on her back. The pinkette rolled the sleeves of red robe up to her biceps and tied her hair which was slightly longer with a red ribbon Zuko had gifted her on her birthday as a token of their friendship.

Sakura didn't know that Mai and Ty Lee had joined them after they had the screamimg or acknowledge the presence of Ping and Feng as they watched her begin her work. Sweat beaded on her forehead as her hands alighted green with Chi. She placed her hands on top of the girl and began scanning for any injuries. The girl had almost fried her heart had she not tried direct the lightning outwards. Sakura first went to healing her most vital organ, taking not of the veins and arteries which had been unfortunately electrocuted and filled with more Chi than blood. With meticulous control, she reverted the cells back to the former glory and remove the Chi that had travelled in the wrong direction. She didn't know how long she had stayed like that, her hands on top of the girl's chest.

After fixing up her heart, Sakura went to her arms. Forming a Chi scalpel, she slit the older girl's wrists and the insides her elbows. Blood flowed freely but Sakura didn't see it as she set to work to remove all the clogged up blood in her network. She pushed the cells to produce more blood as she took out all the bad blood. After making sure that she no longer had clots in her system, Sakura closed up her wounds and ran her Chi through Azula's system for the final time, healing any small mishaps which may have escaped her eye. "Heart has been restored, veins and arteries unblocked, no blood clots, nerves from the brain to the hands have been fixed," she mumbled as she took in the sight of Azula's flesh which was now a healthy pink.

She must've been crouching in the ground for hours but to Sakura it felt like mere minutes. It was only when Sakura had stood up, her bones cracking and her back stiff with a very severe headache and exhaustion numbing her nerves that she finally noticed the group which had formed around her. She opened her mouth to speak but it turned out to be a terrible idea as she was succumbing to darkness the next instant.

"I hear you have an exceptional medic under your tutelage."

"Yes, my lord."

"And she's proven to be better than most medics despite being ten years old."

"That's true my lord."

"She healed Azula of all bruises in a span of thirty minutes after electrocuting herself."

"Yes my-"

"And you didn't bother to tell me."

Ping looked up from his position in front of the Fire Lord, his folded knees trembling in fear as he looked at Ozai.

"Don't look at me you filth. Your eyes are unworthy of staring at such power," the Fire Lord spoke, his voice deep and guttural.

"Forgive your lowly servant my lord," Ping spoke as he adverted his eyes to the ground.

"Why did you not tell me this?"

"I first wanted to tutor and monitor her until she was perfect to present to you, my lord."

"Did you teach her anything new? From what I've heard, she's a qualified medic on her own, better than you in fact."

"I did not teach her anything new, my lord. I only taught her how she should behave in front of royalty and her duties as a royal physician, my lord."

There was a stretch of silence that Ping wanted to look up to see if the Fire Lord was still present but he feared to break the rules.

"Bring her to me."

It was the last thing he heard before the door slammed shut, leaving him inside the throne room. He hadn't even heard the man move.

Azula woke up at dusk, her throat and parched. The first thing she did was search for a glass of water on her drawer and she was grateful for the pitcher of water she found. She downed the whole container in one go, forgoing the cup which lay beside it.

"I see you're already up. I was expecting you to be up and about in a few days."

Azula turned to find Sakura sitting near the door with a scroll in her hand. The older girl quirked an eyebrow up as Sakura moved her chair to sit beside her. "How are you feeling? Is there anything out of place?" she asked as she hovered concernedly. "What happened?" Her voice was groggy and she hated it. "A lightning bending accident happened. Please never try to bend lightning without the supervision of another bendor and at your brother, you could've hurt him. It could've been much worse for you," Sakura chided her with a frown on her face.

"You healed me."

It was a statement, not a question and Sakura nodded in agreement. "Why? Why did you heal me?" Azula pressed as she looked at her incredulously. "Because it's my job. I'm a royal physician," the ten year old replied. "No one was ever able to do that, not even that stupid fart called Ping. It's not possible," the fire bender spoke, though clearly to herself. "You should've left me to die. Isn't that what everyone wants?"

Sakura looked at Azula in shock as the girl stared at her accusingly. "Nobody wants me, why did you go the extra mile? I haven't done anything to deserve it," she seethed.

"I don't need a reason to help a friend."

Sakura was still in a daze as she left a murderous Azula who had accused her of having another motive to helping her. She made her way to the peach tree which was beside a small pond she frequently visited whenever she was feeling down. A group of turtleducks were swimming and she took out the dry bread she had managed to sneak from the kitchen and began feeding them.

"I never got to thank you for saving Azula's life."

Ziko plopped himself bedside Sakura as she sat at the edge of the pond, legs firmly tucked underneath her. She gave the boy a side glance before turning back to looking at her reflection in the water. "There's no need to," she grumbled as she threw the bread in the water. "Of course there is. I'd have lost her if it weren't for you," he remarked with a smile. "Well, little miss princess certainly doesn't think so," Sakura bit out as she hit an unlucky turtleduck which squawked in indignation. "What she did say?" he asked her quietly. "She thinks that I have some ulterior motive for helping her, that I didn't do it because we're friends," she huffed angrily as she shared a glaring contest with the turtleduck she had hit.

"Please forgive her," Zuko spoke beside her. "She should apologize herself," she replied snidely. "You have to understand Sakura. It's not because she was born like this but there were things which happened during our childhood that she has become who she is today," the thirteen year old spoke as he tossed some bread in the water. "Oh do enlighten me," Sakura said, sarcasm heavy in her voice.

Ziko spared her a glance before he began. "Azula is a very passionate person, too passionate for her own good. And that causes people to misplace her passion and fear her. I don't know what happened exactly but Mother was afraid of Azula as she was afraid of Father. So whilst I was showered with love and affection, she held Azula at an arm's length. And it sort of grew on Azula that she was a monster because her own mother feared her. Not to mention that everyone in the palace constantly compared her to Father, not his good traits but his bad ones. It only made it worse. She had no one to understand her and was severely lacking both maternal and paternal love as such she became the one thing she could," he said. "The exact same monster that everyone thought her to be," Sakura finished in understanding. Shame welled within her as she thought of how she had accused Azula. "She's paranoid, she doesn't trust anyone, not even you or Mai and Ty Lee. Not even me, not even her own father. She's just like Father in a way, she keeps people close to her using fear. And it's eating away at her sanity bit by bit, I don't like it but there's nothing I can do," he admitted, head bowed in resignation.

"I'm sorry, I thought she was just being terrible but now I understand," Sakura spoke. "Well, it's not that she's not at fault either," Zuko said as he sent her a comforting look. Sakura quickly looked away as her face turned red. She had forgotten how close she was to his face. She could make out the flecks of gold and brown in his eyes and the light that seemed to illuminate in them when he smiled.

She quickly stood up. "I, uh... I have to go to the infirmary and see if there's any work there. See you later!"

She was off before he could even reply. Zuko blinked his eyes before he smiled at her antics. That girl was clearly something else. Her mood could change in a single moment from angry to remorseful and understanding. He dusted his knees as he stood up. He looked at his reflection in the water, going through the last conversation he had with his mother at this very pond. He sighed in resignation as he thought about the thing that had been troubling him for years.

Where had his mother gone?

I hope you enjoy, sorry for any grammatical errors.

Tozoonana

AfricanFire