Kitsu woke early the next morning and began her day in silence. Thoughts of her talk with Zuko the night before plagued her mind as she prepared a poultice for his wound. Even thinking about it made her grimace with embarrassment. What was she thinking?
Kitsu stuffed a supply of bandage leaves into a basket and smeared the poultice she made into a small pot. There was no reason for her to continue changing his bandages. Iroh was perfectly capable of seeing to Zuko's wounds. She would continue to prepare what he needed, but she wouldn't spend any more time in Zuko's presence than necessary.
She filled the basket with bandages and several pots worth of salve as well as poppy stems he could chew if the pain became too great. By the time the basket was heaped with supplies she had made several days worth of treatments.
What would she even say to him? Did she have to say anything? Kitsu grabbed her dress from it's peg and pulled it on over her head, followed immediately by her smock. She needed to work and clear her mind.
The sky was still dark as she slipped out of her house and padded silently towards the stable. She dropped the basket just outside the door to the stall where Zuko and Iroh slept and set about her chores. Tending to Poki would be horribly awkward but she couldn't completely avoid her guests. There was only so far she could get away from them. If Zuko heard her as she worked he made no sign of it, and she was relieved that he didn't. Maybe he would avoid her too.
Kitsu slipped out of the stable and crossed the courtyard to the pig-sheep pen. As she tended to her livestock her mind raced with agitation. The look of Zuko's face as he refused to answer her while they stood in the moonlight. Each time she pictured it she wanted to punch herself.
What possessed her to ask such a personal question she didn't know. Just because they shared an unfortunate past didn't mean anything. It didn't mean they were friends and it certainly didn't mean she could confide in him. She supposed the solitude had finally turned her brain to mush. For years she managed to keep herself well away from strangers, reveling in her sacred privacy. Now a matter of days had left her questioning everything.
Once she was done with the pig-sheep and the sky was beginning to turn a deep pink she decided the vegetable patch was the best place to avoid him. Kitsu groaned as she knelt and began to pull up the invading weeds that had gained a foothold in her garden while she was preoccupied with her guests. From the corner of her eye she saw Zuko exit the stable and look around. She didn't move or make her presence known. From her place on the ground she was well hidden. Despite herself she paused and watched him as he crossed the courtyard and began banging on her door with his fist. By the square of his shoulders she could tell he was angry, making her all the happier not to announce herself. When he did not receive an answer from her empty cottage he spun around and scanned the farm with those molten eyes.
Kitsu swallowed and shook her head as she returned to weeding the garden. The cool soil smelled fresh and clean as she dug her fingers into it and pulled up roots. If she just stayed low and quiet he might not notice her.
"What is this!?" Kitsu bristled at his sudden appearance but gave him little more than a glance. He was standing over her basket in hand.
"What does it look like?" She retorted as she struggled with a particularly robust weed.
"Why did you leave it in the stable?" He demanded, lowering his voice by only a fraction. Kitsu grit her teeth in anger and glared up at him.
"So you can take care of your wound yourself." She snapped back. Why couldn't he just leave her well enough alone.
"Is this because of last night?" Zuko growled through grit teeth. Kitsu felt like she'd had cold water dumped on her. All the shame she'd spent the early hours of the morning tucking away came back full force. This was what she got for being stupid enough to let her guard down.
"Last night didn't fucking happen!" She snarled as she stood up and leveled him with a scowl. "Leave me alone!" Zuko was startled by Kitsu's swearing but it was the way her face flushed and her eyes began brimming with tears that threw him off. Feeling out of his depth only made him angrier.
"What? You're throwing a tantrum because I wouldn't call you pretty!?" Zuko threw his hands up and took a step closer. Where had the girl from the day before gone? He couldn't wrap his head around why in the hell she was suddenly ripping his head off.
Kitsu balled her fists as she felt pure fury. Her throat strangled itself as she tried to come up with a response. Why couldn't she think of what to say? Her mind raced with a thousand things but nothing came out. Her heart thundered in her ears and she felt so embarrassed she thought she would be sick. Kitsu turned around, her hand to her mouth as she tried to stifle a sob. Kitsu started running.
Before Zuko could stop her she gave a stomp that sent bits of rock flying through the air and slipped through the passage to the outside. He'd barely made it ten feet when the passage collapsed and left a heap of massive boulders behind her.
"Zuko, what did you do?" Iroh demanded as he ran over to join his nephew. The cacophony of crumbling rock had rousted him from a deep sleep.
"What is that supposed to mean!?" Zuko snapped back. "She's the crazy one!" Zuko stood before the breach in the cliffside breathing out clouds of furious steam. "She's going to get us killed!"
"Zuko!" Iroh barked. His nephew froze upon hearing the authority of his tone. "What happened?" Iroh never yelled at Zuko like that unless the situation was dire.
"I ran into her last night by the pond and she started asking all these strange questions. When I didn't answer one of them, she got mad and ran off. This morning I woke up to that!" Zuko growled as he flung his hand in the direction of the medicine basket. Iroh followed Zuko's arm to the small woven basket that was neatly piled with herbs and little clay pots.
"And you confronted the only person willing to protect and help you in the entire region?" Iroh demanded sagely. Zuko swallowed and looked at the ground. Why did Uncle have to say it like that? She was being crazy! "We must find a way to reach her, Prince Zuko." The urgency in Iroh's voice startled Zuko as he watched his uncle raise his arms and enter into his bending stance. Without another word Iroh sent a massive pillar of flame into the rock. Zuko didn't know what else to do but help him. Raising his arms Zuko sent his own gust of flames at the wall and watched as the rock began to smolder and glow.
Kitsu's feet pounded through the underbrush as she ran. Fat tears spilled down her cheeks as the underbrush tore at her kimono. Stupid stupid stupid! She cursed at herself. The hot tears stung her eyes and she suddenly found herself sprawling head long as one of her bare feet caught on a root. Kitsu hit the ground hard and bashed her knee on a rock.
"Well what have we here?" The sickly sweet voice sent a chill down Kitsu's spine as she grimaced with pain and looked up. Through the blinding morning sun Kitsu could see the figure of a young woman riding a lizard-rhino.
Kitsu scrambled onto her knees and forced herself into form despite the throbbing pain in her leg. She could feel blood trailing from her knee to her foot as she glared at the woman. "Oh look, it thinks it can fight me." The woman swung her leg over the lizard-rhino's back and landed gracefully on her feet. Fire nation soldiers filtered through the trees and surrounded Kitsu on all sides. As her eyes focused Kitsu realized that the girl in front of her bore a striking resemblance to Zuko. Of course! The girl sliced her hand through the air and sent a razor thin blade of flames straight for Kitsu. Kitsu gasped and kicked out, wrenching a boulder from the dirt mere feet away and sending it through the blade of flames and deflecting. The rock barely hit its mark as Kitsu sent another volley at Azula, but the fire nation princess wove through her attacks like it was a dance, pushing Kitsu further and further back. Kitsu began to feel the searing heat of the flames as she continued to lose ground. She moved desperately as the girl came closer and closer with each precise movement. Fear shot up in Kitsu's stomach as Azula gave a wicked grin and performed a graceful kick which sent an enormous ball of fire hurtling towards her opponent.
It felt like ages before Iroh and Zuko finally managed to melt through the cliff face and through to the other side. They followed the sloppy tracks Kitsu left on the forest floor and arrived just in time to see something neither of them ever expected.
Zuko watched as Azula's flames hurtled towards Kitsu, unable to look away. He felt shock roll through his entire being as Kitsu's form changed in the blink of an eye. She morphed from the low, immovable stance of an earth bender into the higher, more fluid stance that was iconic to firebending. Her hands came together and before he could even blink she redirected the blast into the treeline, charring a row of trees to a crisp.
"Enough!" Iroh bellowed as he stepped between Azula and Kitsu, squaring up to the princess. Azula's grin spread wickedly, but the surprise in her eyes was clear as day.
"Stand aside, Uncle!" She barked. "I was just introducing myself to my new toy!" Kitsu shuddered at the princess's words and felt her knee falter. This was bad, very very bad.
Zuko took in the situation with dismay. They were completely surrounded by imperial guards and there was nowhere to run. His mind kept flashing the image of Kitsu redirecting his sister's blue flames. It wasn't possible. The avatar was alive, he'd spent years of his life chasing the airbending brat. There couldn't be two at the same time, all of the wise men agreed on that one fact.
"She's my prisoner!" Zuko roared the words before he could even consider the ramifications. Kitsu's head whipped around and she looked at him in shock and disgust. Zuko ignored the feeling of guilt as he sent a volley of flames hurtling towards Azula, but she dodged them effortlessly.
"She was all alone when I found her. That makes her mine!" Azula countered. They were arguing over the girl like children fighting over a new toy. Azule sent more blades of flame hurtling towards her brother which he barely escaped. Despite herself Kitsu worried over Zuko's wounds. He was in pain and she could see it.
Kitsu's head whipped back and forth between the siblings in shock. They fought over her like she was nothing more than an object, something they could claim ownership of with little more than a word. Fury roiled in the pit of her stomach as she stood behind Iroh. There was no way she was getting out of this unscathed. How did this even happen? Kitsu grabbed onto Iroh's tattered shirt and tugged. As he turned to look at her she jerked her head in the direction of her compound and mouthed the word 'tunnel' to him. Even if Zuko was claiming he intended to take her prisoner, she knew Iroh would protect her, but that meant she had to help him first. Iroh nodded in grim understanding and turned back to the feuding siblings.
"I'm bringing her back to Father!" Zuko snapped. Even Iroh turned to look at Zuko in shock. Zuko swallowed the unease that rose from his stomach as he looked into his uncle's eyes. He would explain later. Hell, at the moment Zuko wasn't even sure what he was doing. If the girl really could control more than one bending form she could be all he needed to regain his father's approval. She might not be the Avatar, but Kitsu may just be valuable enough to regain his rightful place and his honor.
"And how do you plan to do that, Zuzu?" Azula countered as she stood akimbo, challenging her older brother with her unmistakable sneer. Zuko snarled at the use of that infuriating nickname and dropped into form, ready to attack. Kitsu's mind raced as she tried to think of what to do, but before she could think of anything Iroh took a deep breath and breathed an enormous plume of fire. Iroh spun with force and agility Kitsu never expected from the old man, and sent Azula and her soldiers staggering back to escape. Kitsu didn't waste any time. She grabbed Iroh's hand and yanked him away, back towards the compound. Kitsu's leg screamed in agony as she struggled to push herself faster. She could hear flames tearing through the air but she didn't look back. As they neared the entrance to her compound she took a step and felt a searing pain shoot from her ankle all the way up her spine and into her teeth. Once again she hit the ground hard.
Zuko followed behind Kitsu and his uncle as they tore through the forest. He did his best to fend off their attackers while they made their escape. As he turned to see if his Uncle and Kitsu were alright he saw her stifle a yelp of agony and crumple to the ground. Without pausing Zuko scooped her up and continued running. He did not even register the damage he'd done to his arm as adrenaline surged through his veins. If Azula took Kitsu he would have one less chance at regaining his honor, and he would die before he let that chance be taken from him.
With Zuko now preoccupied Iroh let him run ahead through the tunnel before turning and facing Azula and her royal guards. The tunnel entrance created a bottle neck that allowed him to fend off only a handful of attackers at a time. He only hoped Zuko and Kitsu would manage to escape.
"Take me to my house!" Kitsu urged frantically. "There's a tunnel!"
Zuko nodded and sprinted into her house before dropping her onto her bed. Kitsu grunted at the rough landing and glared venomously at Zuko before attempting to open the secret passage hidden beneath her stone floor. The ground rumbled but the passage didn't open.
"What's wrong!?" Zuko snapped. "Open the fucking passage, Kitsu!" Panic tinged his voice as he looked out her window and saw his uncle fighting off dozens of imperial guards. It was only a matter of moments before they would overwhelm him.
"I'm trying!" She screeched back. "I've never done this without my legs before!" Kitsu tried in vain to force the rock aside by jabbing her fists in the proper motion, but without her feet to ground her and solidify her stance it was useless. With an infuriated cry she stood up and stomped the ground with her injured leg, forcing the plates of rock to separate and reveal a staircase leading into the earth. The pain that racked through her was so excruciating her eyes rolled back in her head and she collapsed onto Zuko. Zuko grabbed her and turned to the door.
"Uncle, hurry!" Zuko watched as Iroh gave one final attack before turning and sprinting towards the cottage. As he ran he scooped up the basket of herbs Kitsu had made for Zuko and they all dove into the passage together. Zuko lit a flame in his hand to guide their way while Iroh turned and began melting the tunnel behind them so it would be impossible for Azula to follow. After several yards Iroh stopped and they continued running. Neither Zuko nor Iroh knew where this tunnel led and the only person who could tell them was unconscious.