-Author's Note-

I am SO SORRY that this took a long time to update. I have just been so distracted with everything going on with my life. From games, to books, to random crap happening, I have just been busy dealing so I apologise again. Now, I worked on this chapter three or four times now but I was never happy with what I made. It probably feels rushed and messy. especially at the end of this chapter, but it will do.

I will be working on Broken next, don't worry those who were wondering. I was just doing my best to concentrate on this chapter that's all. I'm just really happy I managed to get this in before the New Year. I hope everyone had a Happy Christmas by the way and I hope you all will have a good New Years as well.

This chapter is all about Naruto on Ember Island. Next chapter will be back with Kushina.

If you see any mistakes then please let me know and I will fix them. Any questions then please feel free to ask and I will do my best to answer. Please also leave a review if you can, the more the better.

I said this in my profile but I am putting this here as well for those of you who need this. If anyone is struggling in life in any way, then please do not hesitate to talk. I know how difficult it is to find someone to talk to. I do not want my family or friends to worry and its odd to think of going to see someone about it, however, I have found that talking about my problems does lift the weight off my shoulders, even if its a little bit. So, please talk to me if you are struggling or desperate to talk to someone. I will never share your problems and I will only reply if you wish me to, that way you can just type your worries to see if it helps.

Word Count (Without Author's Note): 5217

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"I would like to wear my new dress tonight."

"Yes, Dear."

"Perhaps we can go to the Scorched Lantern tonight, I hear their Hippo-Cow steaks are to die for."

"Anything you want, Dear."

"Are you even listening to me?"

"Of course, Dear."

For once in Vice Admiral Lee's life, he regretted marrying a woman who was more than half his age, him being sixty one and she being twenty eight. You would have thought he would learn as this was his third marriage in nine years but apparently not. Of course there were some advantages to their age differences. She was young and beautiful while he was old and fat. It also helped that she was great in bed, more than happy to do all the work while he enjoyed himself.

If there was one disadvantage, it would be that she talked a lot, almost insistently. He wouldn't have bothered with courting her if it wasn't for the fact she was from a rich family, much like his second wife had been. He wondered if he could just give her a child to focus on, that way she would talk to it rather than him. Actually, an even better idea would be to give her a child and then he himself be sent off on a ship to wherever. That way he wouldn't have to deal with them for a year, maybe two if he was lucky.

Vice Admiral Lee was so lost in thought, he barely noticed his wife talking to him again. But what he did notice was that someone had just walked into him. He easily stayed standing while the person who had bumped into him fell to the ground. Now, if this was anyone else, Lee would have shouted and yelled at them to stay out of his way but because it was a child, he instead knelt down and looked apologetic while his wife went away to look at a shop window. "I'm sorry, boy, are you hurt?"

"I-I'm okay, Sir," Naruto muttered as he took the mans offered hand which pulled him back onto his feet. "I wasn't looking where I was going."

"Are you hurt?" Lee asked, happy to see that the child shook his head 'no'. "Then be on your way, little one."

"Thanks sir!" Naruto cheerfully said as he ran away with a wave, Lee waving back with a smile.

'What a nice boy,' Vice Admiral Lee thought, happy to see a child of that age acting polite. Turning back, he spotted his young wife motioning for him to get to her. It was clear she see's something she would like for him to buy. All thoughts of the boy disappeared as Lee made his way to his wife. "Yes, Dear?" he sighed.

Pointing at the window and towards a necklace, the wife happily smiled. "I want that one! It will go beautifully with my new dress!"

Looking at the piece of jewellery, Lee had to admit that it was a nice. And the price tag next to it was even nicer. "Very well," he said, "But that will be all for today, do you understand?" Seeing his wife nod with a pout, Lee reached back towards his money purse. His brow furrowed though when he felt nothing there. Trying the other side, he still felt nothing. "Where is it?" he questioned, turning around to see if he dropped it. Not seeing it anywhere, he looked confused until he realised that the boy that bumped into him mist have snatched it. "T-That boy is a thief!"

"Ha ha ha!" Naruto laughed as he tossed a small bag of coin into the air before catching it. It was always fun to steal and people like that always fell for the clumsy child routine. At least this guy was nicer, the last person he did this to, he got kicked in the stomach. He still managed to steal the guys money but it hurt like hell. "Now, let see what I got." Opening the bag, Naruto smiled as he saw dozens of silver pieces and even more copper pieces. He half expected some gold pieces but could see none. Still a good score either way. His mother had taught him some pick-pocketing skills while they were travelling around and while she never really cared for it, she did see the usefulness as it helped them at times.

The first thing Naruto bought for himself with his hard-earned money was a snack that was popular in the Fire Nation. It was called Hot Rocks. From what Naruto saw, it was made similarly to how bread was made but you cook it just before it burns. Then you sweeten it however you like, with honey or sugar, and then you cook it some more until it hardens before serving as it's warm.

Munching on the surprisingly tasty treat, Naruto had a look around some more just to see if there was anything that would catch his eye. There were a few trinkets and toys but nothing he really wanted to buy. He knew his mother wouldn't want him to anyway as they always kept their packs light for easier travel. No need for useless stuff that won't help in the long run.

He found himself on top of a buildings roof, sat on the edge that overlooked one of the many beaches. It gave him a nice view as he finished his snack. Before long, he reached into his clothes and pulled out a piece of paper. It was a letter his mother had left for him when she left two days ago. She had left it with a big pot of ramen that should have lasted a few days. 'Should have' being the key words as Naruto ate all of it for breakfast. Anyway, looking back at the letter, he read it for what had to have been the umpteenth time.

"Dear Naruto,

I know I apologised already for leaving you alone like this but I am still sorry. Hopefully I'll be back within a few day's, possibly a week at most but no more than that. As you can see I have made you some ramen and there should be enough to last a couple of meals, even for you. Please eat the fruit and vegetables I left with them. You are a growing boy, after all, and need your nutrients.

Now, I am trusting you to look after yourself while I am gone. I know you are only nine-years-old but I trust you. You always were a bit smarter than other kids your age so I'm sure you'll be okay.

I would prefer if you stayed in the house the entire time I am gone but I know you will not do that. If you do go out, then please be careful and remember everything I taught you. If I find out that you started another fight or pranked anyone, you will not be allowed any ramen for a month.

I love you, my little Maelstrom. Please be safe while I'm gone.

P.S. Don't you dare make a mess! I want that house to be clean by the time I get back!"

Naruto rolled his eyes at his mothers nickname for him. At least it was 'little Maelstrom' and not 'little ramen topping', that one had a dozen people laughing when she called him that at a kids park. He couldn't wait to get out of the village they had been staying in after that incident. Anyway, he folded the note and placed it back inside his clothing. Climbing back down, he decided to go for a walk along the beach just to pass the time.

He walked past random people who were also out on walks and made sure to keep his distance. He did get a few funny looks, which he figured was either because he was a kid that was all on his own or because of his unique hair colour. Either way he paid it no mind and kept walking. After several minutes of walking, he came across dozens of people who were playing around or just sitting in the sun. It was nice, seeing so many people enjoying themselves without a care in the world. Seeing them all like this, it was actually a little difficult for Naruto to believe that these were the people that were waging war on the rest of the world.

'I wonder if that Fire Lord guy is here,' Naruto thought as he kept walking. 'If I defeat him, then I'd be the saviour of the world! I can imagine Mum's faces when she come's back, that'll be hilarious!' He laughed out loud at his own thoughts, drawing strange looks from some passing strangers. So absorbed in his own thoughts, mostly of him picturing how he'd fight and beat the Fire Lord, Naruto wasn't paying any attention to where he was going. As a result, he walked right into someone. They both fell back and onto the ground, both groaning at what happened. "Sorry about that," Naruto apologised, rubbing his head as he sat himself up. For once, he hadn't meant to do that.

"Watch where you're going!" the person he bumped into shouted. Looking, Naruto saw that he had walked into a young girl who looked about his age. She was wearing a red summer dress with black and gold patterns on it. She had black hair which was styled to have a top-knot as well as two bangs framing her face. The girl was also giving Naruto a very harsh glare with her golden eyes.

"Oi! I said I was sorry!" Naruto said back, not liking how rude the girl was to him even after he apologised. "And we both walked into each other so we're both to blame!"

The girl looked shocked that someone had actually spoke back at her. No one had ever done this to her and it quickly filled her with anger. "Watch your tongue, boy! Or I'll have it cut out!"

"Boy?! I'm older than you! You don't get to call me 'boy'!"

"What makes you think you're older?!"

"I'm taller than you! That makes me older!" Naruto stopped shouting when the girl suddenly stepped up to him and held a hand on top of her head. Keeping it level, she moved it and showed that it was now an inch above Naruto's head, who's jaw dropped. "What the hell?!"

Now showing a smug smirk, the girl crossed her arms and took a step back, "Now who's taller, Shorty?"

"I might be short but at least I'm not ugly."

"How dare you?!"

The two children kept throwing insults at each other, neither realising that their shouting was drawing in a crowd that watched them. It was odd for them, seeing a young boy and girl yell at each other for no reason that they could see. A few of them managed to gather that it all started because one had walked into the other, which then somehow started all this. And now the two were just shouting names at each other.

"Shrimp!"

"Loser!"

"Idiot!"

"Freak!" The two just kept swapping insults, snarling at each other and nearly butting heads. But when Naruto shouted, "Monster!", the girl reacted a little differently than he had expected. The girl went quiet for a few seconds before both of her hands erupted with large orange flames. With a roar, she lunged at Naruto who shouted in surprise before ducking, only just managing to avoid his head getting ripped off. "What are you doing?!"

Turning back to the boy that insulted her, the girl levelled a glare on Naruto and he couldn't help but shiver in fear. "I'm going to kill you," she said in a terrifyingly calm tone. "Now hold still!"

Obviously not wanting to die, Naruto made a run for it with the girl hot on his trail. He ran past a number of stores as well as crowds of people, all of whom moved out of the way from the chaotic children. Thankfully, Naruto was able to keep ahead of the girl while running but there were a few close calls, especially when she started throwing fireballs at him. It was a miracle they missed him as well as the random people and buildings, otherwise things would be a lot worse.

Seeing a chance to make an escape, Naruto took it and made a sudden turn, running between two buildings. He rounded a corner and hugged the wall, panting as he took the chance to catch his breath. He was at a dead-end but hoped his plan worked. 'Did I lose her?' Naruto thought as he took a risky peek around the corner.

She was there but she didn't exactly know where he was. "Where are you?!" she roared, her hands still on fire. "I know you're here somewhere!"

The girl was getting closer and Naruto was beginning to panic. He didn't want to die! He still had so much to live for! Like eating more of his mothers ramen, fighting in epic battles, eating more ramen, learning why 42 was the meaning of life, and then there was the ramen he had yet to eat. 'Calm down,' Naruto thought, hoping to come up with a plan to get out of his situation. 'There has to be a way out.' Looking around more carefully, he took in his surroundings. Apart from the way he came in, he was surrounded by three wooden walls that were two stories high. Actually, now that he had a good look at one of the walls, he could see that some of the wood was broken off at random parts.

Naruto grinned, knowing he could climb that. Hearing the girl's footsteps draw closer, he decided to just go for it and ran to the wall before scaling it as fast as he could. It wasn't as easy as he first though, mostly because some of the places to grab were more spaced out than he was used to. But he made it just in time, "There you are!" the girl shouted, just spotting him as he reached the roof. "Get back down here!"

Sticking his tongue out, Naruto made a face at the girl. "Make me!" he taunted back with a cackle before shrieking as a fireball sailed past him.

"I'm going to roast you alive!" the girl roared. Naruto just laughed at her threat again, thinking he was safe but paled when he saw the girl somehow jump up to the roof thanks to windowsills and walls. By the time she got up there, he had already began running away again. "What's the matter?! Scared?!" she shouted with a laugh while chasing after him.

'I might actually die!' Naruto thought, unable to think of a way to get away from this crazy girl. The gap between buildings was about half a meter so he could easily jump over to another roof but so could the girl. 'Gotta think of a way out of this!' he thought before noticing that he was running out of roof. He made it to the edge and saw that there was no place to go. He couldn't jump down as there was no safe place to land and he didn't have the time to climb down because as soon as he could try, the girl would catch up and burn him.

"Nowhere to run now," the girl said as she caught up. She had an evil looking grin on her face and her hands lit up with fire again.

With every step she took, Naruto took one back until he reached the edge. "Mercy?" he pleaded.

If anything, the girls grin grew more villainous and it was freaking Naruto out. "I don't know the meaning of the word," she replied, the flames in her hands growing bigger.

Shielding his face, Naruto shut his eyes as he waited for his inevitable demise. "I'M SORRY!" he shouted, an apology being his last hope. He didn't want to apologise as it was the girl that had started all this, but he knew he should swallow his pride and just do it if it meant he could live.

"Apology accepted."

"...Huh?" was Naruto's genius response as he opened his eyes to see the girl right in front of him. Her hands weren't covered in flames anymore and she held a triumphant smirk.

"I was never going to hurt you," the girl admitted with a laugh, enjoying Naruto's bewildered look, "As fun as it was, watching you run for your life, all I wanted was an apology."

That was it? That was all she wanted? Naruto didn't know if he should be thankful or annoyed so he decided on a mixture of both. "You weren't going to hurt me? But what about those fireballs you threw?! You almost took my head off!"

"You dodged, didn't you?"

"That's not the point!" Rolling her eyes, the girl walked past Naruto to the edge of the roof. Spotting a pile of wooden crates just below the roof, with the edge hiding them from view, she easily jumped down. Naruto, seeing this, twitched as he wished he saw them before. "Show off," he muttered before following. "So, what was all that about then? You went crazy when I called you a monster."

Crossing her arms as she leant on one of the crates, the girl glared at Naruto. "I've been called that by too many people, including those that say they love me. I hate that name so you would do well to never call me that again."

Judging by the scowl she wore and how tightly she was grabbing her own arm, Naruto could tell she was really bothered by the name he called her. "Well I can think of other names to call you but I don't think you'd like that, so what is your name? I'm Naruto."

"...Azula," the girl said after a few moments. She had been tempted to not tell the boy her name but thought there was no harm in indulging. Besides she was doing this for a reason. "You're not from around here, are you? I think I would have seen you before now." That was mostly because of his hair. Azula had never seen a blond before and she doubted anyone else on the island has either.

The two started walking in a random direction with no destination in mind. When Azula asked that question, Naruto thought of how to answer. He knew not to give too much information, as his mother had told him not to to help them stay safe. "No, I'm not," Naruto eventually answered, "My mother and I just got here a few days ago. We're not much for socialising so we really keep to ourselves. You're actually the first person I've had a proper conversation with since I got here." He then laughed, "You're also the first person to attack me out of the blue like that."

"As you know, I had my reasons," Azula replied with a sharp look that Naruto wisely looked away from. "There aren't many people that can outrun me, let alone a child," she commented, sounding a little impressed.

"Don't call me a child when you look about the same age as me," Naruto grumbled, not wanting to go back to who was older than who. He still wasn't happy with being shorter than the girl. "Mum says I might as well be an Airbender cause I'm light on my feet, always running around and climbing high places. Always been that way." Every time he reached a new height, his mother would always freak out which was hilarious to him. Although the ear pulling and the yelling when he gets back to ground level don't make it fun.

"GOD DAMN IT!" Kushina shouted as she and Hăidào's entire crew struggled to fight off two giant turtle squids, massive molluscs with armoured skin and ten tentacles that were being used to grab hold of the ship. They were also grabbing some crew members and either throwing them into the distance or slamming them under water. Kushina had been using her waterbending to fight back and hold onto the two creatures to limit their movement but she had lost her concentration when she sneezed of all things, allowing the squids to destroy more of the ship.

Hăidào sliced off one of the smaller tentacles that came at him before shouting, "What the hell is wrong with you?! Get back to holding those creatures dammit!"

Even though she had no way to prove it, Kushina just knew that Naruto was talking bad about her again. "Do not talk to me like that!" she shouted back to the captain amidst the chaos all around, "Shout at me like that again and I will freeze your balls off, GOT IT?!"

'Why do I feel like Mum's mad at me?' Naruto thought with a shiver. He only ever had this feeling when he pulled a prank or he broke something after his mother said not to do that. Oh well, he just hoped he was imagining things. Feeling a small pebble bounce off his head, Naruto rubbed the spot with a scowl as he turned to look at Azula, who was also scowling at him. "What was that for?"

"Cause I was talking to you and you completely ignored me!" Azula said sharply, her glare intensifying as Naruto gave her a sheepish grin. The two were sitting on a bench in the shade, cooling off from all the running around they had done.

"Right... What were we talking about again?"

Naruto was lucky looks couldn't kill because, if they could, then Azula would have murdered him a dozen times over by now. "You asked about my family and I was telling about about my brother, Zuzu, and how he got a knife from our uncle while I got a stupid doll." Azula hated that thing. It was meant for girly girls which she wasn't. Plus the thing was just creepy. As soon as she was alone with it, she burnt it to ash.

What terrified her was that, the next morning, it was sitting on a chair in her bedroom staring at her, completely unharmed. No matter what she did, it always returned and was inching closer to her every morning.

"That was nice of your uncle," Naruto commented, unknowingly breaking Azula away from her terrifying thoughts. "Wish I had a brother or sister. What's your brother like?"

"Annoying," Azula quickly said with crossed arms. "He tries so hard to be the perfect son but always makes a fool of himself. While mother dotes on him, father knows that I am better than Zuzu at everything, even firebending. He's barely gifted while I'm naturally gifted. Father even says that I should have been an only child."

"That's terrible," Naruto said, clearly not happy with what he just heard. He also didn't like the look of pride that Azula wore when she talked about being better than her brother. "Parents shouldn't favour one child over another, that's just not right. Especially when your brother is trying to get their approval." He then gave Azula a sharp look that made her flinch as no one has ever looked at her like that, save for her parent's. "And it doesn't matter if your better than him at firebending. If he keeps practicing, then he'll surpass you and everyone else one day."

Azula could only stare, not knowing what to say. The way Naruto defended her brother sounded a lot like how her uncle and cousin defend him, saying the same sort of thing. "Whatever," she replied, not liking the thought but knew that it was possible. "If he does catch up to me, then good for him but he's got a lot to learn still."

Seeing that his words were getting to Azula, Naruto smiled, "I'm sure he'll surprise you eventually."

"Dear Agni, you really do sound like my uncle and cousin," Azula grumbled. "I'm sure you'd get along with them swimmingly."

Knowing that Azula's family were here, Naruto asked, "Are your cousin and uncle here too? I know your parents and brother are."

Shaking her head, Azula pointing her thumb towards the nearest beach. "My cousin, Lu Ten, is with my family right now, probably making sand castles or something with Zuzu. My uncle is still fighting the Earth Kingdom at Ba Sing Se though. That's where he got that knife and doll, after breaking through the cities Outer Wall." She looked proud again, talking about her uncle achieving the impossible like that, "It took over six hundred days but he managed to break into the impenetrable city. Nobody in history had ever managed that."

Even though Azula's uncle is part of the Fire Nation, Naruto was impressed by the mans accomplishment. He sounded strong and not someone he should meet. Noticing the sky was starting to turn orange, signally the coming sunset, Naruto said, "Didn't realise it was already this time. Need to get something to eat before heading home."

"I have time before I go back to my family," Azula said, although she was surprised that no one was sent after her already. "Come on, there's a stall nearby that serve good food. You can buy me something before I go back."

"What? Why do I have to buy you stuff?!"

The two children walked off, playfully arguing as they did. Neither seemed to notice three cloaked strangers hiding in an alley and looking in their direction. "Are you sure?" the tallest one asked, his voice deep and gravely.

The second was crouched and nodded his head. "Definitely," he answered, "That's Princess Azula and she's all alone."

"But why is she alone?" the third asked, her eyes looked around nervously. "Usually people like her have bodyguards or an entire army to protect them. This seems too easy, doesn't it?"

"I haven't seen any guards since she went off on her own," the second man replied, "All I know is, this is our chance. What do you think, Boss?"

For a moment, the first man said nothing as he thought things over, still staring after the children in the distance. His eyes scanned the crowds and he too saw no guards or anyone that was watching out for the Princess. This truly was their chance. "We keep following them," he ordered, "It'll be dark soon. First chance you get, you take her, got it?" The two with him nodded, "Good. While you're gone, I'll get us a way off this island."

Naruto and Azula walked down the street back towards the beach, both enjoying the treat that Naruto had bought thanks to the money he had procured. The food they were eating were chicken skewers and meat dumplings, both of which were delicious. "This stuff really is good," Naruto said while chewing on a dumpling. There had been a choice of either a meat dumpling or vegetable dumpling and, of course, he went for the meat.

"I told you," Azula said in a matter of fact tone while nibbling on a bit of chicken. She ate her food at a slow pace compared to Naruto who was scarfing it all down in large bites. It was both impressive and disgusting. The sun was almost finished setting, already darkening the skies, but she knew her family were still at the beach. Her mother and brother liked to watch the sunset while her father probably went back to their beach house. She didn't know if her cousin would be there or not at this time. She'll find out when she gets there.

While walking past a building, a pair of hands suddenly clamped down over her mouth. She shouted in surprise but it was muffled. Before she could react and use firebending on her attackers, something heavy and made of metal was placed over her hands while her feet were cuffed. The same happened to Naruto, as he too was cuffed before both were thrown to the ground.

"That was easy," the cloaked woman commented, taking another look around just to be sure the coast was clear.

"And you doubted me," the second cloaked man laughed, ignoring the look the woman sent him. He grinned down at the two children, their eyes wide with fear and anger. They tried to shout for help but their mouths were gagged for good measure. "Hello Princess, thanks for making this easy for us, being all alone like that. Well, mostly alone," he said, glancing at Naruto who struggled against his bindings.

Picking Azula up and the woman said, "This plan might actually work. Lets get back to the Boss, he'll want the Princess in the Earth Kingdom as soon as possible." That shocked Azula, that Earth Kingdom soldiers managed to infiltrate the Fire Nation like this. "What about him? We can't have witnesses."

For a second, Naruto was scared that these two kidnappers were going to kill him. If he could have, he would have sighed in relief when the cloaked man shook his head, "Let's just take the boy with us. Even if he's Fire Nation scum, I ain't one for killing kids." Walking over, he picked Naruto up and placed the boy over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, "Can't wait to be back home! I'm sure the Fire Nation will do anything to have their little princess back!"

Now realising that she was going to be held ransom, Azula struggled even more. Due to her restraints, she couldn't firebend at all as her hands and feet were covered in metal. She couldn't even shout as her mouth was gagged. There was nothing she could do. All she could do, was watch as she and Naruto were taken down to the docks. The two kidnappers avoided the guards easily, clearly having learned the routines and such. Making their way to an unassuming boat, they were greeted by another man in a cloak. "Good work. Now get her inside before anyone see's," he said, opening the cabin door for the two. He looked at Naruto but made no comment.

The cabin was a makeshift prison as Azula and Naruto were thrown to the floor once inside. "Have fun, it'll be a while before we reach the Earth Kingdom," the second cloaked man laughed before locking the door, leaving the two alone as the ship began to set sail.

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-Author's Note-

Just wanted to put this down here to explain a few things. Couldn't put it at the top Author's Note cause that would have been spoilers.

I apologise if Azula is acting a bit OC, that's just how it is. There is a reason why she didn't introduce herself as a princess and also why she had no guards or anything. It will be explained soon, I promise. I just hope I don't get comments about this because then that'll mean they didn't read this note. So please read and understand I know what I'm doing for the most part.

Don't forget that Naruto is nine-years-old in this, and I'm making Azula about the same age. That's why Azula couldn't fight against her kidnappers as the two weren't trained properly yet.