Iroh and I had been walking for a day and a half now. My feet hurt.

The only reason that I wasn't complaining, was because I cared about Zuko too much. That idiot was going to get himself killed without backup.

I could tell that Uncle also disliked the walking, but his determined look showed that he was also worried more about Zuko than his feet.

Conversation was hard to strike up. Neither of us knew what to say, without bringing up Zuko's name.

Instead, we occupied our time thinking. I had plenty of time to reflect on life.

Even when we stopped for food, I refused to talk, and I've yet to eat anything.

"Aiko, you must eat. This is unhealthy." I knew my worry was going too far, but I didn't care. My brother was out there, and I made a vow that I was going to make sure he was safe, even if it killed me.

He knew what was going through my head. "Aiko, you mustn't allow yourself to starve, or else you will be of no help to Zuko when we find him- and we will. Stop worrying so much, please."

I knew he was right, but I felt sick- too sick to eat. He sighed. He wasn't going to let me starve.

"You need to eat. Zuko is fine. Stop. Worrying." He pushed the food closer to me.

I sighed, defeated. I had gone too long like this. He won't move until I eat, so fighting is only delaying progress.

I shoveled the food into my mouth, and began walking again.

I'll admit eating did feel good, but Zuko needs to be found, now.

He left in the wrong state of mind. If we weren't there to reel him in, I'm afraid something will happen.

☆¤☆¤☆

Another day had passed and we've yet to find him. Uncle says that I need to be patient, and I am slowly getting better in some areas.

I am eating normally, and I managed a solid 5 hours of sleep last night.

An overwhelming majority of me, however, is becoming more and more worried as each hour passes. What if we never find him?

I was knocked out of my train of thought when a sudden force launched me into the air.

"Ow. That really hurt my tailbone." I heard Iroh groan.

I got back to my feet and turned to the attacker. She did the same to me.

I noticed that she was young, and her eyes were pale. She was blind. I knew her, but how?

"You!" She pointed at me. "You've been chasing me and my friends all night!"

I rose an eyebrow. "Um... No, I was busy following my uncle. You must have me confused with someone else." Azula. Of course, but why would she be after her?

"She has. Why don't we sit down and have some nice calming tea?" I nodded, and so did she.

"I'm Toph." She held out her hand for me to shake.

"Aiko. This is my uncle, Iroh." I pointed from me to him, as he made the tea.

"Sorry about attacking you. I thought you were someone else." She admitted feebly.

"How are you so sure that I'm not her? I mean if you were so sure before..."

"I recognized the shape of your body, but now I can tell that you don't hold yourself the same way. There's a distinct difference." She smiled.

I nodded. "You see with the vibrations of the Earth... Man, that's awesome!" I laughed.

"How did you know?" She seemed confused.

"I knew you were an Earthbender, and your blind. You could also see me, and spoke of the way I hold myself. I just connected the dots."

She smiled. "Not bad."

Uncle waved us over to serve us tea. He poured it for all three of us.

He handed it to her. "Here is your tea." When she didn't take the offer, he continued. "You seem a little too young to be traveling on your own."

"You seem a little too old." She retorted, taking the tea, causing us to laugh.

"Perhaps I am." He handed me my cup and took his own.

"No, you are too old, Uncle. Why do you think I'm here?" I smirked playfully.

"Good point." He laughed.

"I know what you're thinking. You don't think I can handle myself." She mumbled. She must have thought that, because of my comment. I didn't mean it that way...

"I wasn't thinking that." Uncle and I said at the same time.

"You wouldn't even let me pour my own cup of tea." She pointed out.

"I poured it for you, because I wanted to, and for no other reason." Uncle explained.

"People see me, and they think I'm weak. They want to take care of me, but I can take of myself, by myself."

She sounded a lot like Zuko. "You sound like my nephew." Uncle agreed with my unspoken statement.

"Thinking you must everything on your own, without anyone's support. There is nothing wrong with letting those who love you help you." I noticed that he slipped into just talking about his nephew's situation. He backtracked, noting the same thing.

"Not that I love you. I just met you." Toph and I laughed.

"So, where is your nephew?" She inquired, noting the lack of the aforementioned third person.

"We,'ve been tracking him, actually." Uncle clarified.

"Is he lost?" Her question worsened my mood. She didn't know the half of it. He was lost in more ways than one.

Uncle seemed to have a hard time finding the right way to explain the situation.

"Yes, a little bit." I rose an eyebrow. A little? "His life has recently changed, and he is going through very difficult times.

"He's trying to figure out who he is, and he went away."

"So now you're following him." She concluded.

"I know he doesn't want us around right now-" Uncle began.

"- but if he needs us we'll be there." I finished, determinedly.

"Your relative is very lucky, even if he doesn't know it." She offered, standing up.

"Thank you." She smiled.

"Our pleasure. Sharing tea with a fascinating stranger is one of life's true delights." Uncle smiled.

"No, thank you for what you said. It helped me."

"I'm glad." I smiled.

"Oh, and about your nephew. Maybe you should tell him that you need him, too."

I sipped my tea, thinking about it. She had a good point.

☆¤☆¤☆

We found him just ten minutes later at an abandoned town. He was lying on the ground, as a fight raged on. I couldn't tell who was apart of it, and at the moment, I didn't care.

I ran up to Zuko.

"Aiko?" He asked weakly.

"Yep. Now get up." I helped him to his feet with a smile.

As we ran back to where the action was by following Uncle, I asked my brother, "Who's fighting?"

"It's the Avatar and Azula." That's when I put two and two together. Toph was with Aang, and that's why Azula was after her. I should have known that from the beginning. Why didn't I?

As Azula came running from behind a building, Uncle cut her off by blocking her with his belly.

I smirked, and Zuko growled.

Zuko, Uncle and I circled her from the left as Aang and his friends came in from the right.

"Well, look at this. Enemies and traitors, all working together." She raised her hands in surrender. "I'm done. I know when I'm beat. You got me. A princess surrenders with honor."

I rolled my eyes. "No, you really don't." I retorted without thinking. I glanced at everyone, making sure they were all alright. My remarks got them in trouble before; I wasn't going to let it happen again.

That was my most fatal mistake.

Without a warning, Azula shot blue flames at my chest. The force from the blow sent me spiraling to the ground.

I was conscious enough to hear an explosion and felt my brother's presence beside me.

He groaned in regret and anger. I wanted to comfort him and tell him that I was fine, but I was too weak.

After that was complete darkness.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Third Person

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Zuko sat above his sister. He left her. If he hadn't gone off and left her, she wouldn't be this way. He felt guilty.

The three original members of Team Avatar looked at her sorrowfully. They had grown to know her back at the North Pole. Each of them had taken a liking to the girl.

The gaang now felt bad that they had thought she betrayed them, earlier. They thought that she was Azula, but now they realized differently.

Katara moved forward, she refused to see her friend in this unconscious state. "Zuko, I can help."

The group feared that without the proper attention, her injuries could be fatal.

"Lea-" Before Zuko could go any further, Iroh had grabbed his hand to silence his protest.

He knew the dangers of Azula's attacks. He would not see someone that he saw as his own to die. That's not a pain that he could handle again.

He motioned for her to help Aiko.

Wordlessly, Katara got to work. There was a gaping hole, singed along the edge, in the stomach of the shirt, revealing a gruesome burn.

She used some bending water to do what she could to heal her. With the work that she put into healing it, the majority of the more gruesome parts of the burn healed, leaving a more manageable mark in her skin.

Zuko stared at the wound intently. It didn't look nearly as bad as his own scar had when he first got it. She would live. He wouldn't have to relive the loss of his mother.

There was a collective sigh of relief, as Iroh thanked her.

The gaang offered to look after her, to make sure that the wounds healed properly, but Zuko refused.

He didn't trust those children to look after her. His sister looked after him, and now it was his turn to return the favor.

Iroh smiled kindly at them. "I thank you for your concern, but the wound will be fine. We can look after her. Don't worry."

Sokka tried to say otherwise, but Aang stopped him. They would see her again.

They would make sure of it.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Thanks for the support. This is the fastest growing book in popularity for me. I'm glad you are all enjoying my book. Later, I will go back through and correct all of the spelling and grammar errors.

Again, thanks for the reads. :)