Book 2

Earth

Four weeks has gone by since the North Pole. Iroh; Zuko; Kai and I spent three weeks on the raft in the middle of the ocean. It was hard, but we managed to survive. We luckily found land and was able to get a place to stay at a Fire Nation resort on a river. We have been staying here for a week now, and both Iroh and Kai are having the time of their lives.

Speaking of which, I thought when I heard them both groan in pleasure as they both got a massage. I giggled at them and shook my head before I continued working on making my cherry blossom crown. The resort was surrounded by cherry blossom trees, and their flowers were in bloom. One of the dresses Iroh was able to save from the ships explosion, was a pink dress with cherry blossoms patterns. I thought to make a crown to go with it.

Right now, I was wearing a soft purple dress with cherry blossom patterns on it. It was a gift from the resort, and it covered my back and legs. Unfortunately it was a short sleeve, so I had to wear gloves. Luckily, there were purple fingerless gloves saved from the ship's explosion, so I whore them with my hair tied up with my usual braid.

"This is what I've been missing." Iroh said after a groan while two young men massaged his back, while Kai was getting groomed from a young boy. "Who knew floating on a piece of driftwood for three weeks with no food or water, and sea vultures waiting to pluck out your liver could make one so tense?" Iroh added, getting a soft yip of agreement from Kai, while I giggled at the retired general's comment while I continued making my flower crown.

"I see." I looked up when I heard Iroh and saw that he moved from the massage table and was now sitting next to Zuko, who was hearing a hat that was covering his face while sitting by the door. "It's the anniversary, isn't it?" Iroh asked him, making me frown. But before I could ask what anniversary it was today, Zuko spoke and gave me the answer.

"Three years ago today, I was banished. I lost it all." I sighed softly in sadness for the scarred prince as I silently watched him and his uncle. "I want it back. I want the Avatar, I want my honor, my throne. I want my father not to think I'm worthless." Zuko continued as he looked outside to the cherry blossom trees. Oh Zuko! I thought as I stood up after putting the half made crown down and slowly walked over to them.

"I'm sure he doesn't." Iroh said, making me smile as I watched him try to cheer Zuko up, but that smile soon disappeared when Iroh spoke again. "Why would he banish you if he didn't care?" Both Zuko and I shot Iroh a glare before Zuko stood up and walked away. Iroh frowned before he repeated what he said to himself in his head before he grimaces.

"Uh, that came out wrong, didn't it?" He asked as he looked over to Kai and I, only getting a glare from the both of us as an answer. "I'll take that as a yes." He said as he rubbed behind his neck. I shot another glare at him while Kai shook his head at Iroh before getting up and jumped over to me and jumped up onto my shoulder.

"We'll go check up on him." I said to Iroh before following after Zuko with Kai on my shoulder. We didn't see him anywhere once we got outside, but we soon found him sitting against a cherry blossom tree. Before I walked over to him, Kai jumped off my shoulder and run over to him. Kai jumped up to Zuko's shoulder and started rubbing his cheek against Zuko's.

As I walked closer to them, I heard Zuko chuckle softly. "You just know how to cheer me up Kai." Zuko said as he raised his hand up and started petting the fire ferret. "I hope that counts for me as well." I said with a smile as I continued walking over to them. Zuko looked up and gave me a small half smile before offering his hand to me.

I placed my hand in his before he gently pulled me down to sit next to him and wrapped his arm around me as I laid my head on his shoulder, while Kai jumped down and laid down on my lap. We stayed in this position for a moment before I finally asked him if he was okay. But he just sighed as his thumb rub up and down on my shoulder. "I honestly don't know." He answered while looking in front of him.

Wanting him to take his time, I stayed quiet and gently petted Kai on the head as I waited. "I just want to go home." He said before gently squeezing my shoulder before looking down to me as I looked up to him. "Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that you, Uncle and Kai are in my life, I just... I just miss my home." He said to me before sighing and rested his head against the tree. I sat and stared at him for a moment before sighing and started speaking as I petted Kai.

"I know how you feel, I miss my home, my people and Zian. I know I still have Aang, Appa and Kai, and now you and Uncle Iroh, but you can't help but still miss the things you lost." Zuko hummed in agreement before pulling me to him again and laid his head on mine. "I'm glad that I have you in my life." He said, making me smile as he rubbed my shoulder again with his thumb. "Me too." I said snuggled into his shoulder.

"You don't regret meeting me?" Zuko asked jokingly. I chuckled softly as I pulled back and looked up to him with my grey eyes. "Never." I said with a bright smile, which he returned. "You sure?" He asked with a knowing smile as he wrapped his other arm around my waist. "Absolutely." I said before closing my eyes when Zuko placed his lips on mine and kissed him back

Unfortunately, before either of us could deepen the kiss, we got interrupted by Kai who groaned in disgust. Zuko and I pulled away and looked down at Kai who glared at us before we looked to each other and laughed in amusement. "I should have left him with Iroh." I said as my lips brushed against Zuko's. "Yeah... you should have." He said before he kissed me again, making Kai groan again.

***

It was the next day, and I finally got my crown done. I was wearing it now with my pink dress with cherry blossom patterns on it. Unfortunately, it was a bit open on the back and it was a no sleeve dress. It went around my neck, but kept my shoulders open. So, to cover my tattoos, I wore pink fingerless gloves, and my hair loose to cover my back.

"Look at these magnificent shells!" Iroh said after he placed his bag full of seashells down on the table and picked one of the shells up. Both Iroh, Kai and I woke up early this morning and saw that it is going to be a beautiful day and decided to go down to the beach and pick up some seashells. "I'll enjoy these keepsakes for years to come." Iroh said as I went through my seashells and started getting ideas on what I can make with them.

"We don't need any more useless things!" Zuko snapped in annoyance when he saw the seashells. "You forget, we have to carry everything ourselves now!" He added, making me roll my eyes before I walked over to him while Kai played with the shells on the table. "You didn't seem to have a problem carrying me around back in the North Pole." I said as I stood in front of him with a half smirk with my arms crossed.

"Yeah, but you are worth carrying." Zuko said as he took a step forward and wrapped his arms around me as I uncrossed my arms. "These shells on the other hand, are not worth carrying." I smiled as Zuko spoke and wrapped my arms around his neck. "I think that is the most romantic thing you have ever said to me." I said as with a smile. "Just telling the truth." Zuko said with a shrug, but smiling back at me as well.

"Oh yeah?" I asked with a soft giggle and a slight blush as the butterflies started going crazy in my stomach. "Yeah, my Cherry Blossom Princess." Zuko said, tilting my crown a bit, making me giggle at the nickname before he leaned down and gently kissed me on the lips. As we kissed, I heard Iroh chuckle in amusement at Kai, who was groaning in disgust, but we just ignored them.

"Well isn't this a interesting sight to see." Zuko and I immediately pulled away and looked to the corner where the voice came. Sitting there, was a brunette teenage girl in a Fire Navy uniform. "Who the hell are you?" I asked before Zuko suddenly push me behind him and stood protectively in front of me. But the girl just ignored my question and smirked at Iroh and Zuko. "Hello, brother. Uncle." She said to them, making me gasp in realization.

"I'm guessing this is Azula." I said as I picked Kai up and held him in my arms, getting a nod from Iroh while Zuko glared at her warningly. "What are you doing here?" Zuko asked her with a glare while making sure I stayed behind him and out of his sister's sight. "In my country, we exchange a pleasant hello before asking questions." Azula said as she played with on of the shells before standing up and walked over to us.

"Have you become uncivilized so soon, Zuzu?" She asked her brother, making my eyes widen at the nickname, before I covered my mouth to block my giggle. "Don't call me that!" Zuko snapped at her angrily, before he looked over his shoulder at me, giving me a warning glare, as if telling me not to call him that as well. I just shrugged before giving a slight nod before he looked back to his sister. "To what do we owe this honor?" Iroh asked with his own warning look to her.

"Hmmm... must be a family trait. Both of you so quick to get to the point." Azula said before breaking the shell with her sharp finger nails. I flinched slightly as I watched the shell break into tiny pieces while Kai yipped in fear and hid his face in my chest. "I've come with a message from home." She said before her eyes, which was full of evil, moved over to me with an evil smirk. "But first, please do tell me who this girl is? Is she the legendary fiancé I keep hearing about? Asami right?"

After hearing her comment, both Iroh and Zuko looked at each other for a moment before their eyes moved back to Azula, while I stared at her shocked before shaking it off. After a moment of silence, I decided to take over the conversation. I stepped forward and stood next to Zuko before I questioned her. "How do you know about our engagement?" I asked while still holding Kai. Azula's smirk brightened more evilly before looked to her nails as she played with them.

"Oh, I heard it from Admiral Zhao before he left to the North Pole." She said as she played with her nails before looking up to me. "Of coarse he did." I said with a slight glare before Zuko stood in front of me again, glaring at his sister warningly. "You said came with a message? What is it?" He asked, getting a glare from Azula before she told us the message.

"Father's changed his mind. Family is suddenly very important to him." She said as she crossed her arms before she continued. "He's heard rumors of plans to overthrow him. Treacherous plots... Family are the only ones you can really trust." She said in a slight irritation voice before her voice softened. "Father regrets your banishment. He wants you home." It took everything in me not to gasp in surprise and ask her if she's really telling the truth.

Instead of getting an excited Zuko as we thought we would, we were met by silence, for Zuko was standing there, staring in shock. "Did you hear me? You should be happy. Excited. Grateful." Azula said in a sneer before making her voice sound friendly again as Zuko moved over to the window and looked outside. "I just gave you great news." She said with a smile so fake, even blind person could see it.

"Sure you did." I muttered under my breath softly as I handed Kai over to Iroh and moved over to Zuko to see if he's okay. "I'm sure your brother simply needs a moment-" Iroh spoke before he got interrupted by Azula, who snapped so furiously at her uncle, that Kai jumped in fright with a squeak, while Iroh and I flinched. "Don't interrupt, Uncle!" What a spoiled brat! I thought to myself and mentally rolled my eyes at Azula as I wrapped my arm around Zuko.

"I still haven't heard my thank you. I'm not a messenger. I didn't have to come all this way." Azula said in annoyance as she glared at her brother, making me annoyed at her. "Why did you then?" I muttered under my breath, but she unfortunately heard me and shot me a death glare. She opened her mouth to snap at me, when she go interrupted by Zuko.

"Father regrets? He... wants me back?" Zuko said in shocked as he looked outside the window. Not knowing what else to do, I just simply rubbed his shoulder comfortably while looked at him in neutral. "I can see you need time to take this in. I'll come to call on you tomorrow. Good evening." She said, walking towards the door, before stopping and added something that send chills to my bones. "Oh, and Asami? My father is looking forward to meeting you."

***

Night came soon, and while Zuko was packing excitedly, I was sitting on my bed crossed leg while I played with my teardrop starfish necklace as Kai laid on my lap. I couldn't stop hearing Azula's voice in my head. "My father is looking forward to meeting you." What does that mean? Why does he want to meet me? Does the Fire Lord really regret his son's banishment? Does he really want to meet me, or does he want to hurt me to hurt his son?

"We're going home!" My thoughts got interrupted by Zuko, who was busy packing excitedly. "After three long years, it's unbelievable!" He said with a bright smile. Usually a smiling Zuko made me happy, but seeing Zuko smiling excitedly over going home made my heart break. What Zuko didn't realize, is that him going home, means leaving me, because for who I am, I will not be able to have a life in the Fire Nation, not until the war is over.

"It is unbelievable." Iroh said, who was sitting on his bed, thinking. "I have never known my brother to regret anything." He admitted, making Zuko stop packing and face his uncle. "Did you listen to Azula? Father's realized how important family is to him." Zuko said before he glared at his uncle in irritation. "He cares about me!" He snapped, making me glare and shake my head at him for the disrespect he's showing to his uncle.

"I care about you!" Iroh snapped before pointing to Kai and I. "Asami cares about! And Kai!" He added before crossing his arms again as Zuko's eyes flickered over to me for a split second before back to his uncle. "And if Ozai wants you back, well, I think it may not be for the reasons you imagine." Iroh said, making me sigh silently in agreement. I may not know the Fire Lord as well as Zuko and Iroh, but I know enough to know that he is a heartless monster and doesn't care about anybody but himself.

Zuko shot another glare at his uncle before turning his back to Iroh. "You don't know how my father feels about me. You don't know anything!" He said, making me sigh sadly as I shook my head at him while Kai yipped quietly as he watched the scene with the same sadness as I am watching. "Zuko, I only meant that in our family, things are not always what they seem." Iroh tried to reason, but it only made things worst as Zuko turned around and glared at the retired general.

"I think you are exactly what you seem! A lazy, mistrustful, shallow old man who's always been jealous of his brother!" Zuko snapped at his uncle, making me gasp at his rude words while Kai squeak in surprise. "Zuko!" I snapped at him in anger while Kai walked over to Iroh and jumped onto the old man's shoulder and tried to cheer him up. Zuko looked over to me, his eyes wide in surprise for a moment before he glared again and stormed out of the room.

"Go after him." I looked over to Iroh when I heard his voice and saw him looking at me with sadness in his eyes. I opened my mouth to argue that I should stay here and cheer him up, Iroh interrupted me. "Go ahead, I'll be fine. Kai is cheering me up already." He said with a half fake smile. I returned him a small soft smile before running outside, after Zuko.

"Zuko!" I called out as I run after a marching angry prince. "Zuko stop!" "I'm not in the mood for one of your lectures Asami!" Zuko snapped as he continued walking away. "Well then don't do things that will make me lecture you!" I snapped as I followed after him. "I mean, what you just did back there to your uncle, that was low, even for you!" I snapped, making him groan in frustration before finally stopping and turned to me.

"I don't understand you two!" He exclaimed in anger as he glared at me. "We find out that we can finally go home! And instead of celebrating along with me, Uncle Iroh is telling me to expect a trap instead a welcoming!" He snapped as his glare deepened. "Well can you blame him?" I asked him with my own glare and crossed my arms. "Last time you were in the Fire Nation, your own father burned half your face and then banished you!"

"Well, in case you have forgotten, Azula told us that he regrets it and wants me back!" Zuko snapped as he glared at me with his usual death glare. "Yeah, sure! Trust your evil crazy sister who cheered after you got burned in the face!" I said while mentally rolling my eyes in frustration. Zuko growled in frustration before groaning as he placed his fingers on his nose as he shook his head. "What's with you anyway? You are acting as if I'm leaving you!" He snapped as he started pacing back and forth.

"But you are leaving me..."

Zuko immediately stopped his pacing and looked to me with wide shocked eyes. "What are you talking about Asami?" He asked as he took a step closer to me. "You're going back to the Fire Nation Zuko." I simply said. "Yeah, but you are coming with us." He said with narrowed confused eyes, but I just sighed softly as I shook my head at him slightly. "I'm not." I said, making Zuko's eyes widen in surprise before immediately asking me why.

"An airbender Avatar's Protector in the Fire Nation with firebenders who want to kill that airbender? Be reasonable Zuko!" I said as I crossed my arms. Zuko stared at me with realization, before shaking his head and took a step closer to me. "We just don't tell them that your an airbender or the Protector." Zuko said as took my hands in his. "And live in hiding forever with the fear of getting caught?" I asked as I looked him deep in the eyes.

"Uncle and I will protect you." He said as he wrapped his arms around me. "I appreciate that Zuko, I really do. But you two can't protect me day and night. Besides, with you two protecting me all the time, who's going to protect you." I asked without breaking eye contact. "I can protect myself, and so can Uncle Iroh." He said, making me sigh before I placed my hand on his left cheek and gently rubbed his cheek with my thumb, making Zuko inhale deeply for a second before relaxing under my hand.

"Zuko, the second your father finds out who I am, he's either going to imprison me forever or kill me on the spot." I said as I looked the scar prince deep in the eyes. "Not if he knows how much you mean to me." Zuko said and placed his forehead against mine, making us both close our eyes. "Zuko..." I started off when he wrapped his arms around me and hugged me tightly against him. "Please don't leave me..." He begged as he hugged me tight.

Before I could saying what I wanted to say, Zuko gently placed his lips on mine, and softly kissed me. I quickly returned the kiss before he pulled away and looked me in the eye. "Do you regret us being together?" Zuko asked me as he stared into my eyes with eyes saying 'be honest'. "Never!" I said and wrapped my arms around him and hugged him as tight as I could. "Do you love me?" He asked as he hugged me just as tightly. "Absolutely." I immediately answered without breaking our hug.

"Then come with me..." Zuko said as he continued holding tight in his arms. "We can happy together in the Fire Nation." He said, making me sigh but I just stayed silent as I continued hugging him. "And nobody besides my crew has figured out who you really are. You'll be save as long as you just keep hiding your tattoos in public. You can show off your tattoos when it just us two, or when Uncle Iroh is around." He continued, making me mentally sigh in sadness.

After not hearing anything from me, Zuko sighed and pulled out of the hug. "Just at least think about it first before you make a final decision." He said as he cupped my left cheek. I sighed softly through my nose before nodding yes. Zuko sighed in relief before giving me a quick kiss on the lips before he walked away, leaving me there deep in thought.

***

Later that night, while Kai and the two firebenders slept, I was quietly packing my stuff. As I packed my things into my bag, I saw the turtleduck teddy Zuko gave me. My heart clenched in sadness when I saw the soft toy and took it out. I held it close to my chest, against my heart and held there for a moment before placing it back in the bag.

As I packed, I thought about what I should do. I really didn't want to leave Zuko and Iroh, but I really didn't have a choice. Going to the Fire Nation is a death wish. Even though what Zuko said was right about people not figuring out who I really am, going to the Fire Nation is a really big risky risk to take. Especially with the Fire Lord who's most definitely still trying to capture my brother. The second he finds out who I am, there's no question what he'll do to me.

I sighed again in sadness as I finished my packing and walked back to my bed. As I walked to my bed, I walked past Zuko's and stopped. I stared at the sleeping scarred prince for a moment before making a decision. Taking a soft breath, I walked over and climbed into his bed and cuddled up to him. Zuko groaned slightly when I cuddled up to him, but he immediately wrapped his arms around me and held me close to him. I smiled softly before closing my eyes and fell asleep in his warm arms.

***

The next morning, I woke up alone. Zuko has already woke up and left. I got out of bed and walked over to my bag. When I got to my bag, I saw a note on top of it. Knowing already that its from Zuko, I picked it up and started reading it.

I look at you and I'm home. I see nothing worse than to be without you because with you my soul feels complete, you are the other half of me and I love you. You are my home no matter where that is.
Please come with Asami, continue being my home in the Fire Nation.

I took a deep breath after reading the letter before looking up and saw Iroh standing at the door with his bag in hand and Kai on his shoulder. "Go get dress, Kai and I will wait for you. Zuko wouldn't have gone far yet." I smiled slightly to the retired general before going to the bathroom and got dressed into a black shirt with red cherry blossom patterns on. It covered my back, but was short sleeves, so I wore black fingerless gloves, along with longs black pants, with my boots, and braided my hair.

After getting dressed, I got out of the bathroom and picked up my bag and walked over to Iroh. He smiled down to me fatherly before exiting the house with me following after him. Soon enough we got to the stairs and saw Zuko walking down them, on his way to his sister's ship. "Wait! Don't leave without us!" Iroh called out as we started running down the stairs.

Zuko immediately turned around when he heard his uncle, and he smiled brightly when he saw both Iroh, Kai and I coming down the stairs. "Uncle! Asami! You've changed your mind!" Zuko exclaimed just in time before I threw myself onto him and hugged him. He quickly returned the hug with a chuckle before pulling away and looked to his uncle.

"Family sticks together, right?" Iroh said and laid a hand on Zuko's shoulder. Zuko smiled to his uncle before looking down to me with a loving smile, which I returned. "You're my home too." I said to him without removing my arms from him. Zuko smiled brightly to me before kissing me lovingly. Kai groaned in disgust when he saw us kiss. Zuko and I pulled away and laughed with Iroh at Kai before we started walking down the stairs again.

"We're finally going home!" Zuko said excitedly as he took my hand in his and intertwined our fingers. I smiled to him, while mentally preparing myself for anything and as well as thinking about what the Fire Lord is going to do to me when he finds out that I'm not just an airbender, but the Avatar's Protector as well. Sensing my worry, Zuko gently squeezed my hand in his and looked down to me with a smile.

"Don't worry, everything is going to be alright." Zuko said as he smiled assuring to me. I just smiled back before squeezing his hand and looked down to the boat as we walked down. Zuko returned the squeeze before looking over his shoulder to his Uncle, who was walking behind us with Kai on his shoulder. Iroh smiled down to us in a fatherly way before looking to me with a look that said prepare yourself after Zuko looked back in front of him.

I nodded to him before looking back in front of me. We continued walking until we got to the docks. As we walked towards the ship, where Azula was standing and waiting for us with a smile, we walked past shoulders standing in attention. Both Iroh and I looked to each other in slight worry when we saw the guards. Each step I took closer to the ship, the feeling in my stomach got stronger saying that we are walking into a trap.

"Brother! Uncle! Asami! Welcome!" Azula said as the three of us bowed in greeting, which she returned. "I'm so glad you decided to come." She said as the guards suddenly moved into a line behind us. Both Iroh and I eyed the soldiers suspiciously before standing up straight again. After standing up straight, Kai decided to be on my shoulder and jumped over to me.

"Are we ready to depart, Your Highness?" The Captain asked as he moved and stood in front of us. "Set our course for home, Captain." Azula said with a sweet smile. "Home." Zuko said with a voice so full of longing before he took my hand in his and gently squeezed it before looking down to me. I looked up to him and smiled, which he returned before we started following the Captain up the ramp.

"You heard the princess! Raise the anchors! We're taking the prisoners home!" The Captain said, before immediately freezing in his spot. Zuko, Iroh and I also stopped and looked to the Captain in shock before looking up to Azula, who also looked shocked for a moment before she glared in fury at the Captain. "Your Highness, I..." The Captain started shuttering nervously, making eyes widen more as he soon realized this really was a trap.

Iroh immediately turned around and started attacking the soldiers before they could. I also turned around and started attacking without using my bending, before taking Kai and placed down to the ground. "Go hide Kai! I'll find you once its save!" I ordered before I started attacking the soldiers again. Kai yipped at me before running towards the woods. I sighted in relief before looking up when I heard Zuko exclaim in anger at his sister after he threw the Captain off the ramp.

"You lied to me!" "Like I've never done that before." Azula said smugly before turning around and walked away. Two soldiers that was standing near her, stepped closer and shot fire blasts at Zuko. Zuko quickly crossed his arms and spread them outward, deflecting the attacks before battle crying as he charged onto the ship after his sister.

Before I could follow after him, a few shoulders jumped in front of me and went to attack me. "I don't have time for this!" I exclaimed in frustration before attacking them. Iroh was also busy attacking the soldiers with his firebending before calling out to Zuko after grabbing a soldier's arm. "Zuko! Let's go!" He exclaimed before throwing the soldier over the edge, into the water, before he continued attack the rest by also pushing them over the edge.

"Asami!" I looked over to Iroh when I heard him call out my name. "Go and help Zuko! I'll hold them off!" I nodded to the retired general and run up the ramp after Zuko. When I got on the ship, I saw the two siblings facing each other, Azula with her smug smirk, Zuko with his glare and fire daggers in hand. "You know, Father blames Uncle for the loss of the North Pole." Azula said as her smug smirk brightened. "And he considers you a miserable failure for not finding the Avatar! Why would he want you back home, except to lock you up where you can no longer embarrass him?"

I glared at the heartless princess and went to attack her when two soldiers attacked me. I quickly blocked their attack before getting my war fans out of my boots and started fighting back with my weapons. "You guys are seriously getting on my nerves!" I exclaimed in frustration as I blocked one attack and kicked the other in the chest. As I fought, I watched from the corner of my eye how Zuko fought against Azula with his fire daggers, but she jumped and evaded every attack he shot at her.

Before he could attack again, Azula moved forward and scratched his forehead with her sharp fingernails, leaving three scratch marks. Before Zuko could attack again, Azula suddenly turned to my direction and shot a big, blue, fire ball at me right after I defeated the two shoulders. "Asami watch out!" Zuko cried out to when he saw the blue fire heading towards me. Seeing how quick and close the attack was to me, I did the only thing to save myself from the blue fire.

I airbended the air away and killed the fire.

Azula's eyes widen in shock when she saw me kill her fire before her expression turned into a snare. "Impossible!" She exclaimed as she glared at me, which I returned before shooting a blast of air at her, but she quickly dodged it. Before she could attack me again, Zuko attacked her first, only this time he was more furious. "You dare try to hurt the girl I love!" Zuko exclaimed as he death glared at his sister while he shot fire at her.

The crazy evil princess shot him glare as she dodged his attacks. "You are more pathetic than I thought!" Azula exclaimed before shooting a blue fire blast him, which he quickly dodged before returning an attack. "Falling in love with an airbender! An enemy!" She exclaimed before shooting another fire blast, but I killed it with my airbending before it could hit Zuko. "Asami's not my enemy!" Zuko exclaimed with a glare before shooting a fireball at his crazy sister.

"Coward!" She cried out before lunching herself at, but we both dodged her attack before fighting back. The three of us continued fighting until we were up the stairway that leads to the control room. Zuko went to punch her when Azula grabbed his arm and held on tight. Zuko's eyes widen in alarm before Azula knocked him off his feet with her blue flames, sending him rolling down the stairs, and knocking me down with him.

Both Zuko and I groaned silently in pain before we looked up and saw Azula moving an arm in a circular motion before doing the same with the other, the signs of generating lightning. She was about to shoot lightning at us when Iroh jumped in front of her and grabbed her hand before redirecting the lightning to a cliff far away from us. While she was still caught by surprise, Iroh bended her downward before kicking her off the ship, right into the water.

"Let's get out of here!" Iroh yelled out as he got off the ship and run towards the woods. Before I could even lift my foot, Zuko grabbed my hand in his and pulled me along with him as he run after his uncle. "Where's Kai?" He asked me as we run. "I told him to hide when the guards started attacking." I answered as I grabbed my bag that I dropped during the fight as we got closer to the woods. "I saw him running to the woods."

The second I said that, a fire ferret jumped out of a tree and landed on Iroh's shoulder. "Found him!" Iroh exclaimed without stopping running. I sighed in relief when I saw my fire ferret before looking over my shoulder to see if the soldiers or Azula was running after us. Luckily, they weren't, but rather being save than sorry, we continued running, putting distance between us and Azula.

***

We continued running until we stopped next to a river bank. The three of us sat down to our knees and breathed deeply as we all tried to catch out breaths. "I think we're safe here." Iroh said before Kai jumped from Iroh's shoulder to Zuko's then over to mine. Kai yipped silently at me, asking me if I'm okay while I continued breathing deeply. I nodded to Kai after finally catching my breath.

Zuko was sitting next to me in silence when he pulled out a small dagger. He stared at the dagger a moment before grabbing his ponytail with his free hand and held the knife under his ponytail. My eyes widen in shock when I saw what Zuko was about to do as he held the knife under the ponytail for a moment before he finally sliced it off. He held his ponytail in his hand before handing the knife to Iroh, who immediately cut off his topknot.

Before anything else could happen, both Zuko and Iroh stood up and then threw their now cut of ponytail and topknot into the river. Kai and I silently watched the hair floating down the river before I stood up and took Zuko's hand in mine. Zuko immediately squeezed my want but he kept staring at the river in front of him.