Sakura turned eleven exactly four months after Zuko left. She had tried time and again to get information on his whereabouts but no one would budge. She tried to send a letter numerous times but got no reply. She had asked Minghua, one of the governesses whom he often shared tea with if she could send letters to General Iroh who would pass them onto Zuko. But she didn't get any letters in return. She still kept writing, it helped pretend as if he was still there and they were still friends.

The pinkette began to grow her hair out. She just stopped caring about maintaining her hair. She knew that she was going against the laws of the palace when she began to keep her hair long. And so when she saw Ozai for the first time since he banished Zuko, she stared at the man dead in the eye, challenging him because she would snap at any second. The Fire Lord just sent her a smirk as they passed each other in the hallways, the other physicians bowing in respect whilst she glared at him. She was sure sure they could hear her teeth gnashing against each other in spite.

"Hey Sakura, do you have a grudge against the Fire Lord? Your eyes were breathing fire," Amaya, one of her fellow physicians who was four years older than her whispered after they passed the Fire Lord and his envoy. Sakura stared at the brunette out of the corner of her eye. She was very beautiful and had dark freckles dusted on her left cheek. Her eyes were a vivid shade of brown and her black hair was in a short bob just below her chin. "I just don't like him. His face isn't friendly," the pinkette replied as she scrunched up her face disgust. "You mean like a certain prince?" the older girl replied with a knowing look, causing Sakura's face to turn red.

"Pft, General Iroh is too old for Sakura," Teka, another female physician who was twenty years old spoke. "What does General Iroh have anything to do with this?" Amaya asked, her curiosity piqued. The girl had an insatiable hunger for gossip. "Didn't you know? General Iroh is the rightful heir to the throne. But Fire Lord Ozai stole it from him. He named himself Fire Lord after the previous ruler, Fire Lord Azulon, died," Teka replied as her eyes darted around, hoping that their conversation wasn't being heard. Sakura rolled her eyes, it was obvious that Fire Lord Ozai wasn't the true heir to the throne otherwise he wouldn't have ruled with an iron fist. Though, she wondered, why General Iroh had made no effort to get the throne back. Perhaps he had seen that it was too much of a hassle for him.


It was one of those days that Sakura had a feeling, a strange feeling but one that was doable. She was the only person she knew who was able manipulate Chi as she could. Luckily for her, she had been gifted with precise Chi control ranging on a 99.9 percent. But that didn't make it any less easier.

The pinkette quietly made her to the Royal Arena which had been unused since the last Agni Kai between Ozai and Zuko. There weren't any guards present and she managed to evade the few that she had seen by sticking to the walls. Another ability of hers was sticking onto surfaces using Chi. She had been practising for well over a month and had mastered the skill perfectly. She was only left with sticking onto water.

She removed her cloak and folded it neatly before placing it on the ground. She was dressed in a deep brown form-fitting top and a pair of loose pants. She was barefooted. Her hair was held up in a loose ponytail at the nape of her neck, reaching midback. The medic closed her eyes in concentration as she channelled her inner warrior. When she opened them, they were like hardened emeralds in determination. She went through the forms as if her body remembered more than her mind. Punch, kick, duck, swipe, double punch, uppercut, high kick.

She spent the next several hours going through her forms until she couldn't move anymore. But she was stubborn. Forcing her frail body up, she wiped the sweat off her brow. The sun would be rising soon. She remembered one of Zuko's favourite statements whenever he would see her prowling the hallways when the moon was up. "You rise with the moon. I rise with the sun," he would often say when he ruffled her head.

The thought of the banished prince made a sharp pang in her heart. She thought that she wouldn't cry over him even after he was gone for a year. But she was twelve for crying out loud! Not to mention, she always wore her emotions on her sleeve, Mei had told her more times than not.

The medic crouched on the ground and hugged her knees as tiny sobs wrecked her form. It wasn't until he was in front of her that she felt the looming presence of the Fire Lord and she dared to look up into his haughty golden eyes, so much like Zuko but with so little emotional capability like his son. She glared at him through tear-laden lashes, she didn't care whether he found her snot disgusting or not. She hoped that he did.

"What do you want?" she asked with as much venom as she could muster. She didn't stand up from her position but hugged herself tighter. The older man wore a plain red robe and his hair was held in a bun at the top of his head with stray strands covering his forehead. He crouched below to her eye level. "I couldn't help but notice how someone managed to sneak past the guards and enter the Royal Arena when I said no one was to use it at all," he rumbled out, his voice deep like the few age lines etched into his face. "They weren't doing a great job. Plus I didn't know that it was off limits," she griped as she stood up, not wanting to be close to him anymore than she was.

"I won't bother your royal ass anymore and will get going now," she said flippantly as she turned away from him, wanting to collect her cloak and get the hell out of there but he stopped her, holding her by the forearm.

"You can train here only if you will spar with me."

Sakura turned back to face him, disbelief evident in her features. Ozai smirked as he spoke. "I've seen your fighting style, it's a combination of firebending and earthbending. However, I can see flexibility associated with airbending-" "How do you know all this?" she blurted out, her curiosity getting the best of her. "Well, let's say that I was studious back when I was a youth. Much like a certain someone," he said with a knowing look at her. Sakura couldn't help but blush. It wasn't the first time someone pointed out her bookish personality but to see the Fire Lord comparing her love of books to his, well, that was something else.

"What about airbending? Their people have been extinct for over a hundred years. How would you know their fighting style?" she questioned him. "Our great grandfather who was a friend of the previous Avatar, Fire Lord Sozin, was associated with the fighting style of airbenders as they were alive back in his days. Being a close companion of Avatar Roku, he learned a few tricks which he passed onto his children who in turn passed them onto his children, which is my dear brother Iroh and I," he told her. "So you can fight like an airbender?" she asked him as her eyes gleamed with interest. "I'd like to think so. I just know the basic moves. And they require a lot of flexibility. Under the right tutelage and training, I believe you can do that as well," he replied.

Sakura considered his offer. Even though she knew the moves but she could make a mistake and wouldn't have anyone to correct her. She desperately needed a teacher if she was hoping to become a field medic. Plus it would also be an opportunity to land a fist on his smug face.

"Fine. But no firebending," she agreed with a sigh. The man nodded in understanding and Sakura moved back a little to create distance between them. Ozai discarded his robe and threw it to the ground. He was dressed in a pair of pants, nothing else. A pair of golden armbands were on his biceps. Clearly, the man worked out a lot, she thought as she looked at his toned body appraisingly.

"Like what you see?" he asked with a smirk. Sakura scoffed in return. "Please, I'm just twelve."


It had been well over two years since Zuko had left. She hadn't seen Azula since then as she made sure to change direction whenever she felt her Chi signature nearby. Occasionally, she would meet Mai and Ty Lee in the hallways and would exchange a few greetings but that was as far as their conversation went.

Unfortunately, she could avoid the girl for so long as it seems that Azula was now intent on wanting to talk to her. She would sense her hovering near the infirmary for nearly two hours after her training hours were over. But she never dared to leave until she was sure the girl was at her sleeping quarters. Only then would she stick to the ceiling and crawl like a spider to her room which was luckily nearby.

It was in winter when she had an encounter with the Fire Nation Princess, which would be one of the many encounters she would endure all her life in the Fire Nation. Though it didn't snow in the Fire Nation, the sky was always cloudy and she could feel the chill seeping into her blankets in the early mornings. She was still dressed in her royal physician robes but were thicker to cater for the cold.

The medic was in the midst of pruning the plants in her greenhouse, which Mei had given her since she was ten years old. She was humming one of the songs she had heard being played for the Fire Lord when Azula and co. made their appearance in her abode.

Sakura narrowed her eyes in skepticism as the three girls made their way over to her.

"My my, if it isn't little Sakura playing doctor. I honestly didn't think I'd see you here," Azula spoke with a smirk. "What do you want Azula? I don't have time to hear you yapping nonsense because unlike you, I have a job to do instead of playing the villain," Sakura snapped, not caring about being rude. "But you do have time for nightly expeditions with the Fire Lord," the princess commented. Sakura immediately tensed. It was a secret that she had been training with Ozai for awhile now and he had dismissed his guards whenever they trained.

"Oh I know Sakura. I have to say, I'm quite surprised that you'd get together with the Fire Lord after your dear prince is gone. You are very intent in becoming the next Fire Lady, aren't you?" Azula spoke as she cocked her head to the side in feigned innocence. Sakura glared at the girl with all the hate she could muster. "Too bad you aren't a firebender because your eyes are breathing fire. I would've loved to have an Agni Kai with you," the Fire Nation royal chuckled. The pinkette turned back to her work as they departed after their verbal match.

Sakura caught their voices guessing what hair and eye color a child would have if she were to become a consort of Ozai. She punched the table in frustration as she screamed soundlessly.


She had been training with the Fire Lord for almost nine months and as much as she loathed to admit, he was a great teacher. Her skills had improved tremendously under his guidance in comparison to the many times she had trained by herself. He was brutal and relentless in his attacks, not caring that he was battling a pre-teen girl. As such, she was forced to fight like him if she didn't want to die during training. They only met thrice a week but the difference was visible. He was also the one who had discovered another Chi bending ability of hers. She could punch the ground and create craters like an earthbender.

She had just delivered a kick to his chest and sent the man flying into the arena's walls, creating a small dent. Sakura wasn't discrete about her happiness as she cheered loudly for finally kicking his ass. It was only when the man limped over to her, clearly injured that her medic antics finally kicked in. "I didn't hit you too hard, right?" she asked as concern marred her features. "Not quite but quite so," he wheezed out. She pushed away the small voice cheering that she managed to inflict pain upon him as she instructed him to lie down.

Green light covered her hands and she placed them on his chest as she began to mend his injuries. She always made sure to heal the both of them at the end of their matches. Firebending had been incorporated into their training regime after three months. He had singed her hair on one occasion and she was forced to cut it off until it reached just beneath her chin. She moaned her waist-length hair and refused to train with him until he apologized three weeks later. Through she would hardly call giving condolences for her lost hair as an apology.

"It seems as though you have developed a skill unconsciously of adding Chi to your punches and kicks, enhancing them in brutality. Instead of healing, you are destroying," he told her as she finished healing him. The pinkette was confused as they stood up. "Channel Chi to your hand and punch that wall. Don't think, just do it," he told her as he guided her to the arena's walls. Sakura was puzzled at his lame instruction but did as she was told. To say she was surprised would be an understatement when she created a two-metre dent from her blow.

After two weeks, she completely obliterated the entire arena. As much as she disliked him, she couldn't help the smile that bloomed on her face when he looked at her in pride. It was until then that she realized what she had been craving the entire time he had been teaching her. She was craving the acknowledgement of a teacher, the appreciation of a master. She had agreed to train with him because deep down, she knew that she wanted that master-student relationship. It was deeply engraved in her soul

And Ozai had unknowingly fit that role.


Hope you enjoy. Sorry for any grammatical errors. To all those who are wondering, the age gape between Sakura and Zuko is two years and a few months. I don't know Zuko's birthday so I just made my own. For example, Zuko turns fourteen when Sakura is still eleven but she turns twelve two months later. She's younger than Azula by a month. Hope that explains it!

Tozoona

AfricanFire