Sorry if this chapter isn't up to standard and is kinda short , but now that I'm moving past the point that Hammer had left behind I kinda need to figure out where I'm going with this point in the story as a whole . Right now we're just going to focus on some more Azula and Kazumi but I guarantee there will be a whole heck of a lot more important stuff in the next chapter .
Enough about that , let's get right into it !
Despite what others may think Ty Lee liked to think of herself as a very decisive sort of person .
While others may call her an airhead or ditzy or naive , she liked to think of herself as a very honest and straightforward kind of person . And she certainly wasn't stupid for that matter either .
Which is why when Zuko had returned to the palace with his mother in tow ... along with her new husband and daughter . And the fact that Azula had not returned with them and had supposedly fled into what Zuko called the 'Forgetful Valley' ...
Ty Lee could not deny she felt a tinge of sadness and worry for the princess .
She knew Azula could be mean ... but even she didn't deserve what happened to her . And despite everything that had happened between them , she couldn't deny the sadness she felt over what had happened to her former friend .
Ty Lee had been too scared to rustle up the courage to visit Azula while she was recovering at the asylum , that and her new position as a Kyoshi Warrior made it difficult to-
No ... that's not true , I had plenty of chances to go but I was too scared to .
She thought that Azula at least deserve a clear answer on why Ty Lee had betrayed her at Boiling Rock . The look of shock on Azula's face as both Mai and Ty Lee turned against her was engraved in her memory .
She had hoped that perhaps after Azula was finally cured and came back , they could all be friends again... but even that seems unlikely now .
It had already been a few weeks since Zuko came back to the palace and sent out some experienced trackers to try and find Azula ... or at least what had happened to her . But according to Zuko's mother that wouldn't be easy since the Forgetful Valley is filled with untamed and aggressive wildlife and plants.
And ... there was also the fact that the Forgetful Valley was popular for people ending their lives there .
That part sent chills down Ty Lee's spine .
She tried not to think too hard on it as she was performing her night shift with Suki , guarding Zuko's room from any assassins that might strike .
" Ty Lee , are you alright ? " Suki suddenly spoke which snapped her out of her stupor and turned to her captain giving her a worried look " You okay ? You seem to be a bit zoned out . If you're tired I can dismiss you early , doubt we're going to be seeing any action tonight "
" No , I'm okay and I'm not tired , I'm just ... thinking " Ty Lee answered , trying to refocus on her task .
" About what ? " Suki unfortunately pressed and Ty Lee didn't have the heart or skill to lie .
" Its just ... I've been thinking about Azula is all ..." Ty Lee said truthfully " About where she is , what she might be doing ...or what might even be going through her heard at the moment "
" Oh ... I ... see " Suki gave a sympathetic look to Ty Lee , the topic of Azula had always been something of a sour topic for Suki . Considering the fact it was Azula who captured Suki to begin with .
" Has Zuko ... said anything ? " Ty Lee could not help but ask " Have they found any clues or anything about her ? "
" ...No , they haven't found anything or any clues as to where Azula may have gone or what even happened to her " Suki let out a sigh as Ty Lee felt worried at the lack of news .
She had hoped that they had found at least something about what had happened to Azula . If there really was nothing then ...
" Look Ty Lee , I can understand why you're worried I am too , I don't like the idea of someone as dangerous as Azula running around free " Suki said with a serious expression " But you don't have to be afraid Ty Lee , Azula can't take us all down , she's alone now and she won't ever hurt another person again "
Its Azula being alone that scares me .
Ty Lee knew that Suki was trying to be comforting , but what she said brought her no comfort .
" You don't have to be afraid of Azula anymore Ty Lee " Suki simply said before returning back to her post .
I'm not afraid of Azula Suki ... I'm more afraid for her than anything .
Azula doesn't say a word to Kazumi for the whole rest of the day . The entire house being deathly silent for the remainder of it , the only sound being made was the rain that was pouring down outside .
She had broken down in front of the older woman and had to be comforted like a crying child .
Who was she even kidding anymore , she was a child .
Back then she would have laughed at herself for how pathetic she must have looked when she was sobbing into Kazumi's shoulder . Holding onto her as if she was her real mother .
What a sick joke the spirits must be playing on me ...
She wanted to say it was a matter of pride that had kept her from talking to Kazumi about what had happened but that would have been a bold faced lie . She was genuinely at a lost of what to say to the woman after that . What could she even say after a situation like that ? She had one of her mad episodes in front of a total stranger and then said stranger had to comfort her back into some essence of sanity she had left .
Was it really fair to call Kazumi a stranger at this point ?
The woman had offered her help despite the fact that she didn't even know Azula or even had to for that matter . And she had shared some snippets of her past , though Azula could still tell that Kazumi wasn't telling her everything about her past . But it was somewhat comforting to know at least a bit about who she was living with .
And above all else , Kazumi hadn't once told a lie to Azula . At least , not a flat out lie .
Azula didn't sleep particularly well that night , her thoughts still occupied by what had happened today . How she had broken down in front of Kazumi and then was promptly hugged by her and comforted .
She wanted to hate the fact that she didn't hate it when she was pulled into it by Kazumi . It was just more of her pride talking .
She doesn't even have a right to have pride anymore . She doesn't have anything . No friends , no family , no status , dignity or even the fear that she had once used when she was at her top .
She wasn't the proud and cunning princess anymore . She was just a pathetic broken girl who was just lucky enough that a complete stranger had taken pity on her in her darkest and most pathetic moment .
Now that she could hate .
She shuts her eyes and prays to Agni that he lets her have a somewhat peaceful sleep just ... like the one she had last night .
Well it wasn't exactly peaceful she remembers a lot of yelling , a lot of voices and fingers pointing at her and her yelling as well ... before she remembered that at one point during that nightmare she was suddenly taken into unknown arms and was suddenly comforted by a ... voice .
'Shh, it's okay Azula. I'll never leave you. I never left '
The voice itself was soothing , comforting and it made her feel ... safe .
She almost would have mistaken the voice for her own mother but she knows better . Her mother never would have comforted her , not even in her worse nightmares or greatest dreams .
Not like ... Kazumi ...
It was at that moment that Azula realized that the comforting hands and soothing were not in fact part of her dream , but in fact reality .
She ... came to me when I was having my nightmare .
She came to me when I was having my episode ... despite the danger she still came .
Azula could not stop thinking about Kazumi , this woman had more secrets than she appeared ... and her reasons for doing what she does .
All questions and no answers . Azula may need to speak to Kazumi sooner rather than later .
Kazumi woke up early in the morning , she always did back in her younger years when she had to rise for training , but now she rises early so that she could feed Serenity and Tira . There was also the small fact that as a firebender she rised with the sun , so it was of little issue to her .
That and Serenity and Tira would get particularly loud when they were hungry so she always sure to feed them first thing in the morning .
She prepared their food in two very large bowls and went outside where both Serenity and Tira were already up and about , hungrily waiting for their food . Their pleading eyes bringing a soft smile to her face .
" Now , now , I haven't forgotten to feed either of you yet have I ? " Kazumi calmly said as she laid the bowls down in front of the them and the two quickly started devouring everything in record time . Kazumi knelled down and gently patted each of their heads " Be careful not to eat too fast or you'll get a stomachache like last time "
It was during her first year when she was caring for Serenity that she may have ended up overfeeding the tigerdillo and the poor thing ended up with a stomachache for over a week . Kazumi quickly learned to be careful with the amount of food she feeds to them for the sake of their health .
Serenity moved its head closer upon her touch , looking content at the touch " Its alright Serenity and Tira , I'm here ..."
After spending more than a bit of time , she decides to head back into the house to get started on breakfast for both herself and Azula .
Kazumi thought back on the young girl she had taken into her care and what had transpired yesterday . She wanted to talk to Azula about it , but the girl didn't seem to keen on it and Kazumi didn't want to push more than she had to .
Hopefully Azula will come around and they can talk about it .
So you can imagine her surprise when she walks back into the house to find the young girl in the living room , sitting by the table with her back turned to Kazumi . Azula being deathly silent to the point where Kazumi almost couldn't hear her breathing .
" Azula ? " Kazumi softly announced her presence " I didn't know you woke up already . I'll make breakfast in a minute "
She gets no response from Azula other than a slight nod .
Kazumi lets out a soft sigh , she knew that Azula wasn't exactly the kind of person who was very open about their feelings but ... she had at least expected she would want to talk about what happened yesterday .
She decides not to press the young girl on it , the last thing she needs is to be reminded of her episode yesterday and Kazumi knows better than to reopen old wounds early in the morning when the day is still young .
She decides to make a relatively simple breakfast , one that doesn't take very long to prepare .
After just a few minutes , she and Azula are comfortably eating in silence . Kazumi looked at the young girl and wondered whether she should-
" It was you wasn't it ? "
...
...
...
...
...
Kazumi barely held back the urge to choke on the veggie in her mouth as she calmly said " What do you mean Azula ? "
" The night before yesterday I had a nightmare ... another one of my episodes as I'm sure you've heard ..." Azula explained while eyeing her with a serious look " And during that nightmare ... I heard a voice and was suddenly pulled into someone's arms ... that wasn't part of the dream was it ? It was you "
Kazumi holds back the urge to sigh in relief , she had somewhat guessed that the young girl had been semi awake during that particular episode though she wasn't completely sure whether she was aware that it was her . There was no point in hiding it at this point " Yes . It was me " Kazumi admits with a nod.
" ...Why ? " Azula spoke after a moment of silence .
" Why what ? " Kazumi asked confused .
" Why would you do that for me ? " Azula asked , looking desperate for answers " You don't even know me and I ... I ..."
" Is it really so strange to lend a hand to those in need ? " Kazumi countered before Azula could speak " I have heard of your nightmares Azula ...since you started staying here as a matter of fact . But that night ... I couldn't just get stand by while you were suffering so I-"
" I don't want it " Azula suddenly said out of the blue .
Kazumi looked at the young girl in surprise , who was now giving her a serious look but it came off as more half-hearted than anything .
" I get it , I'm a crazy pathetic girl who cries out at night at ghosts and voices that aren't even there " Azula gave a glare " But I don't want your pity Kazumi I ... I don't ..."
" I'm not pitying you Azula ... " Kazumi interrupted , stepping closer to the girl " And I really do want to help you if you would just let me ..."
" B-But why ? Why would you want to help someone like me ? " Azula said , not nearly as serious as before .
Kazumi thought back to years ago when she was on the edge of despair itself and felt like she was about ready to fall into the void itself to never return ... because of the unforgivable sin that she had committed all those years ago .
" Because ... because I just can ..." Kazumi said after a moment " Because I don't want to see a girl like you suffer and be haunted forever ..." Kazumi said softly " Will you let me help you Azula ?
Azula thought hard about it and looked into Kazumi's eyes to try and see if there was any deceit in them . She found none .
Kazumi truly did want to help her .
" O-Okay ..." Azula said bowing her head " Please help me ..."
To hell with her pride . She had nothing left to be proud of . She just wanted the nightmares and voices to finally stop .
" I will Azula ..." Kazumi said putting her hand on her shoulder " I don't know how but I will ..."
Deep down , Azula wanted to believe that too .
And that is the end of the chapter . Sorry if my own writing isn't too good or in line with HammerTide's but I think it gets the job done . I hope you all enjoyed the part about Ty Lee , that was definitely my favorite part to write about this chapter .
The next few chapters will mainly focus on Azula healing with Kazumi along with some snippets with what's been going on with the Royal family and all that . Hope you're looking forward to it .
With that , I'll see you all in the next one .
Angel Out .