Hes not my friend

[blueayes]

I don't know where I'm going with this so enjoy
Prince Zuko watched the ocean, it had been years since he was exiled, he was now headed towards the water tribes of the south, he had to keep a strong front for his men as well as himself.

He knew that if he didn't, he would not be able to resist the urge to hit the man currently located in the cell below deck.

The sea and the world had been actin stranged, even now his fire bending had acted up once in a while and the vision of a woman with blue hair rampaging through the world flashed before his eyes, yet she wasn't alone, behind her were others and none of them were happy.

He walked below deck and he soon found himself in front of the cell, he could hear the man snoring, there was ice covering the walls, several of his men were unconscious on the floor and a few were even tied up, yet the prisoner himself was sleeping peacefully, uncaring about his situation.

He claimed to be named Kazuma and that he ended up here for some reason.

"Wake up, you're getting off my ship as soon as we arrive," he said to Kazuma, the man opened his eyes and assumed a sitting position, he rubbed his eyes and looked at him.

"Yo, Zuko, what I'm supposed to leave. No, I'm good" he laid down after saying that.

"You're seriously going back to sleep. It has been a month, I gave you your freedom, either help around the fleet or get out, I won't keep feeding you and stop bringing fish onboard, those fires you keep making inhere are causing problems for the crew." he said to the man.

"Alright fine I'll help, but let me sleep first." Kazuma said to him.

Zuko couldn't hold back his anger anymore and unleashed a wave of fire on the man, unfortunately, the man made water, and airflow into the cell completely eliminating his flames.

The cell door opened and Prince Zuko left Kazuma alone inside the cell.

"...Hey Zyuko since I'm going to be with you for a while can I make some deals with the merchants when we arive." Kazuma said to Zuko, his voice was carried by the metal walls of the ship.

Zuko wanted to just get rid of Kazuma but he had learned that the man would just lock himself inside the cell and call himself a prisoner, knowing that even though he hated having the man on the ship, he wouldn't kill him for no reason.

"Just make sure you don't cause trouble for us." Zuko answered Kazuma.

The sound of feet touching metal reached his ears followed by the groans of the guards, soon Zuko found himself being accompanied by both the guards and Kazuma.

"Your punishment will be keeping an eye on him...Make sure he doesn't cause any problems." Zuko said to the guards, none of the men argued, considering the had failed to kike Kazuma off the ship.

He walked back to the deck and found his uncle happily drinking a hot cup of tea, he walked passed the old man soon they would leave behind the last port, they needed to stock up on supplies and after that the southern water tribes.

"Ah Kazuma, I see you finally left your room, care for some tea." his uncle said to Kazuma.

"Uncle don't encourage him, he hasn't even worked on the ship." he said to the old man.

His uncle looked at him and closed his eyes as he poured a cup of tea. "Quite the contrary Prince Zuko, he's working more than you can imagine." his uncle said to him.

"So all I have to do is work" Kazuma said to him and Zuko heard the man begin to drink the tea loudly.

Enough was enough, he would not be made a fool on his own ship, he took a stance not an effective one but a fighting stance and le his flames flow.

A sea of fire headed towards Kazuma and then nothing, the only thing that Zuko was able to see was when the fire vanished was his uncle happily drinking his tea.

A strong gust of wind told him that Kazuma was bout to land, somehow the man could use all of the elements including some that shouldn't be possible, but his control over them was weak at best, that is unless he combined them to used them effectively.

"Are you done? Anyway, Zuko do you have things on this ship that aren't needed and are just plain taking up room, you know completely useless things?"Kazuma asked him.

"You mean besides you, yeah there is a lot of spare metal it's from the times we repair the ships, it's been worn out by the water so it cant be used for anything." he answered Kazuma.

"Can I have it?" Kazuma asked him.

"Sure just get out of my sight." he said to Kazuma and the man just walked away, he briefly stopped and handed his uncle the cup of tea he was given, it was empty now, but regardless the annoying man was out of his sight.

"You know you shouldn't treat your friends that way." his uncle said to him.

He didn't answer the old man, he just watched the sea how long did he stand there in all honesty he didn't know, however, the sun started to set and yet when he was about to head below deck to get some sleep he saw the guards appointed to watch Kazuma walk out and begin to put up a banner on the side of his ship.

"What's this?" he asked them.

"Price Zuko sir, he said it was so everyone knew who we were." one of the men answered him, he wanted to burn the banner, or just yell at both the guards and that idiot, but it wasn't worth the headache, so he turned around and walked to his room

 

[blueayes]

Zuko could hear the banging of hammers and more than once he could swear that the temperature of the ship had lowered itself all of a sudden, however, he just dismissed that as the fact that they had finally reached the freezing waters of the south.

Finally, he closed his eyes and went t sleep.

Te next day he found himself doing the same as the day before and the day before that, watching the ocean, however, this time the troublesome man stood beside him, his wide smile was irritating, to say the least, especially since his uncle stood on his right and wherever he turned he would see one of their faces.

He couldn't take it anymore. "Why are you two here?" he asked them as he tried to keep his anger under control.

"I'm just getting some air after last night" Kazuma answered him, the man's clothes still smelled like rust and smoke.

"The sea breeze feels especially good when accompanied by those dear to you." his uncle said to him, and Zuko couldn't remain angry at the two.

"Look we're about to make our last stop, can I count on the two of you not to cause a scene, I man I have to keep up my reputation." he said to them and they both agreed.


He was a fool for believing in the two of them, almost immediately after they had stopped and begun to get supplies, did Kazuma begin to scream.

"Come one come all! yes, sir, we have rare toys, trinkets all sorts of goods that you won't find anywhere!"

"Need something repaired, Imyour man, need a safe and comfortable place to eat your meal or simply have a cup of tea, well just look at my companion for your selves!" he announced to the people.

Zuko could see the usual faces of fear that people held become confused and they would have remained fearful, had two children not run up to Kazuma.

"Kauma" he said to the man in his most threatening manner.

"You said I could sell things" the man answered him.

From the corner of his eye, Zuko could see toys moving on their own, toys that separated and had smaller versions of them inside, that didn't seem to have an end to them, wires that when pulled apart would take the forms of little people dancing before being completely stretched parts and returning to just being wires, however when the wires were brought back together the small figures would do the same dance but in reverse.

"He's scary" Zuko heard one of the children say to Kazuma, for a moment he felt prie even foolish children knew about him.

"He's not scary, think about it, I sell toys, and scary people don't like toys, they break them" the moment that man said those words Zuko felt his body move and he sent fire at that man, he didn't care if he burned those kids.

yet when the fire reached them, he could himself looking at different kinds of smoke, some were different colors, others seemed to join with the regular smoke and make a figure appear for brief moments at least before the wind blew and made it all go away.

"See. I told you he wasn't scary, he even started the fire for the show" Kazuma said to the children who watched the figures in the smoke dance between the different cored smoke.

Zuko could see his men smile and chuckle before topping and turning their heads back to what they were doing.

There wasn't a reason for him to stay here with the two troublemakers, he had things to do.

The rest of the day passed by quickly and Zuko nearly forgot about Kazuma until he returned to the ship, he had to admit he was pleased that the man's little shop was gone.

However, his good mood quickly vanished as he soon found himself looking at a few crates filled with old clothes and food that was about to rot.

"Not one word" Zuko said to Kazuma who looked at him with a wide smile and held a bag filled with coins, how the man-made a bag the same size of his head be filled with so many coins Zuko didn't want to know.

The voyage to the south was thankfully uneventful and they soon found themselves at the southern water tribes villages.

"What's the meaning of this!"Zuko yelled at Kazuma it was customary for the men to line up when entering another nation's grounds, it was simply better defense, yet Zuko found the guards that were appointed to Kzuma wearing green coats, coats that looked like if they were better quality them the ones his men had.

"What they said they were cold, so I made them coats with the clothes I got.;..." Kazuma grinned, "I know you want your men to have some two, don't worry I made some for them"

Zuko was afraid to look at his men and he noticed that they were all hiding something behind their backs.

"Just put them on." he said as he placed one hand on his forehead.

"....Kazuma your not allowed off this ship until I return, I can't have your shenanigans while I'm there." Zuko said to Kazuma.

He and his men walked down onto the tribes and like usual he demanded all of the elders of the tribes, it was better to keep the other nations with as little union as possible.

The elders were forced onto the ship and Zuko soon found himself looking at the man or boy he had been chasing for four years of his life, and air nomad with a giant flying bison.

The boy fled the water tribe alongside two of the elder teens from the tribe, no doubt they were to train the boy in how to master the other elements.

Zuko and his men rushed onboard the ship only to find themselves looking at Kazuma giving warm blankets to the water tribe elders, and Zuiko even caught the man using fire bending to make hot cups of water for them.

"Zuko, I heard you're going to leave them behind somewhere. So can I have them" Kazuma said to him and Zuko didn't have time for the man's stupidity.

"You feed them and tend to them." he answered Kazuma.

For the next few days, Zuko watched Kazuma use water bending to move from ship to ship either he brought back with him useless metal, no doubt he was making more toys or took with him an elder.

As the days passed they finally reached another port and Zuko felt his blood boil.

"Come now! Mam do you have any pains, illnesses well we have the cure right here. These elders are skilled in healing and curing illnesses, and their old so you know they've had lots of practice."

Zuko watched as men woman and children approached the man despite their fear of his presence, he watched as children bought toys and men bought sticks that made the strange smoke for their stores.

He watched as people gathered, the word was spreading and Zuko felt pleased that Kazuma had run out of things, unfortunately, his good mood ran out when the other ship in his fleet brought out all sorts of trinkets, soon the ships were emptied of their useless material, and they found themselves with a lot of extra copper and silver.

"Are you the captain of the fleet? a woman wearing a plain dress asked him, it was normal for ordinary citizens not to know who he was, but for one to actually talk to him, that never happened before.

"No." he answered her.

"Really, he said that if I wanted to get on the ship I had yo ask you>' the woman said to him as she pointed at Kazuma.

"Not one-word uncle not one word" He said to the old man that looked at him with an amused expression.

"And why should let you on my fleet?" he asked her.

The woman immediately took out several maps of the earth kingdom, some that had roots that even his father's own maps didn't have.

"I'll trade you the maps for a safe passage." she said to him.

"Get on," he said to her.

"Alright use the extra funds to buy what we need and you can keep what's left." he said to his men before walking back onto the ship and heading back to his room, however his rest was immediately interrupted as his men dropped a bag filled with gold into his room.

"Prince Zuko, Kazuma said that this was your share and that he knew you wouldn't want things such as copper and silver, so he sent you all of the gold made." the man delivering to him the bag said to him, Zuko for his part just dismissed the man, he couldn't explain it but it felt like if there was a change in the air.

From one port to another, the events repeated themselves and without knowing it, word of the exiled prince began to spread, the Fire Prince, was now a merchant and if you were on his good side you could have all of your illness secured at less than half of what normal cost would be.

Finally, word had spread far enough that when they reached their lates destination, Zuko found several men and women waving at them as they began to walk off the ship, their faces still held fear, but there was now joy in their eyes.

 

[blueayes]

Zuko listened to the music playing on the bridge, there was more of it now, he allowed it only because it allowed his men to work faster, the door to his room opened and the woman walked in, she had gotten a habit of doing that, she would either bring in tea or snacks for him.

The woman placed the food on his desk and sat on by the floor, she never said anything to him, she just sat there more than once he had ordered her to eat the food and drink the tea.

If she had poisoned it, then she would have to eat everything and drink everything on her own.

From time to time he had to admit that he looked at her when she either walked in or left the room, her clothing didn't suit her at all and her plain face could easily be fixed with some makeup, her long brown hair was simply combed.

It had been a few weeks since she arrived, from port to port she was there like a rock on his shoe, there's a reason why women aren't allowed on ships, should she allow the men any ounce attention they would begin to try to impress her and slowly but surely there would-be infighting.

It was for this fact that he didn't stop her from coming to his room, he was certain that either that fool Kaazuma had sent her or his uncle had been the culprit.

Still, why did he find himself looking at her, was it because she looked at him and didn't act as if she was looking at a monster because of his burned face, was it the woman bright brown eyes, in truth he, himself didn't know.

Perhaps it was her womanly charms, he had once heard the men talking about and how they had the power to make men's heads turn, simply because she was there.

The woman didn't show any unnecessary amount of skin and yet, he could just see the size of her but, how large her chest is and the smell she had seemed to bring flowers into the room.

Kazuma continued his worthless act, he had allowed it, simply because it allowed him to get information, but he hated seeing what was happening before his eyes.

He was prince Zuko, people feard him, men hid their daughters and children so that they wouldn't offend him by accident and that man had caused it all to change.

From port to port, the people's eyes no longer showed the fear they once had, and the children that would have run away from him the moment they saw him, now even dared to hand him toys and candy.

The problem is, he couldn't just get rid of Kazuma, the man-made a profit wherever they went and the men took advantage of their increase in pay to send money to their families whenever they could, the elders of the water tribe en cured all of the illnesses that showed up.

He stopped himself from writing.

"Eat" he ordered the woman, she rose to her feet and ate, whatever the food was he didn't care he just watched her eat.

 

[blueayes]

His room was cold like usual, the walls of his room were dark despite having fires meant to both give warmth and light to the room, even he himself was said to blend into the unwelcoming darkness and yet she just kept coming back.

The door to his room slammed open and Kazuma walked in. "Zuko and and .....what are you doing in here Zuko." Kazuma said to him, he held something that looked similar to a dandelion but it was pink and the man was eating it.

"What are you doing in here Kazuma, you know you're not supposed to come into my room" he said to the man.

"Yeah I know, but I wanted to tell you that there's a circus next to the ship." Kazuma answered him bwefore continuing to eat the dandelion.

That wasn't normal, the curiosity got the better of him and so it was better to go see what nonsense the man was saying, from the corner of his eye he could see the woman following him from behind.

The moment he reached the dec of the ship, he stopped at the sight in front of him.

"Kazuma whats the meaning of this?" he asked the man as he tried to keep his anger under control.

"What your uncle said he was tired of playing alone so he graved a couple of the old ladies and they started playing that boardgame of his. By the way who knew your uncle was such a ladies man."Kazuma answered him as he pointed towards his uncle who was indeed playing with some of the o;d women.

"Not that that" he said to the irritating man.

"Well a circus ship started siling next to us and it's been there for a while," Kazuma said to him faking ignorance.

"Kazuma I'm really restraining myself here, but why is that woman on my ship!?" he said to the increasingly infuriating man.

Standing in front of him was someone he hadn't seen in years, Ty lee, a girl that was his older sisters friend someone that used to pick on him a lot, she didn't bully him like Azula his sister did, looking back had the girl gone against his sister things would have ended badly for her.

Still, Zuko didn't like the fact that someone that had helped his sister bully him was in front of him right now.

"Zuko!" she said as she ran up to him.

Out of sheer instinct, he dodged her attempt to hug him, how the woman managed to stop in half a step turn around and leap towards him, was something he would eventually find out.

Zuko could see her life in the circus had done wonders for her because he was forced to dodge her attempts of intimacy that seemed to come from every direction.

"AMMM, please don't bother Lod Zuko" he heard the other woman say to Ty Lee.

Ty Lee jumped in the woman's direction but a wired wrapped itself around her chest and pulled her back before she could reach the woman who had already used her hands as a makeshift shield.

"What are you doing here Ty?" he asked her, however, he could see her face become somewhat confused before a wide smile spread across her face.

"Zuko, when did you get yourself a girl? don't try to lie to me, look your already protecting her." Ty Lee said to him.

It was true that he did put himself between her and the woman that was currently on his ship, but that was because he had promised her a safe passage, nothing else.

"Fine, we're headed to a city for a show and from there to the next show, by the way, I heard you became a merchant and so when we saw your ship, I thought I'd say hie. We haven't seen each other in years." she answered him, her voice sounded genuinely happy.

Suddenly she leaped towards him, but this time the wire didn't pull her back and she managed to hug him, he slowly lifted his right hand and hugged her back, slowly, admittedly hesitantly his left rose until he gave her a complete hug.

"I'm happy to see Zuko" she whispered to his ear

 

[blueayes]

Far into the distance, two men watch the sea from their port town, it has been a rough couple of years, the people themselves and even the town have changed.

Long gone were the days were everyone smiled, by no means were they a happy go lucky kind of people, but at least life was tolerable, sure people complained about life and how unfair things were but at least there were things to look forward to.

A merchant ship that carried strange food from some faraway land, or a couple that had run away and wanted to start their new lives, would show up from time to time.

All of that was gone now, both men watched with an ever-growing sense of fear, another fire nation ship was drawing closer, both men trembled at the sight of the fleet that was able to be seen in the distance yet their eyes slowly filled with relief.

In front of the approaching fleet was a single metal ship, it was no different from any of the other ships around it, except on its side was a red flame that had a green fire drawn inside it.

Word had reached them about the exiled prince and how unlike the rest of the formations people, he was a kind man, the only thing one had to do was simply don't anger the man, he was still fire nation after all.

They had heard the stories about him spoken throughout the drunken blabber of sailors and loudmouth merchants.

The man delt in trinkets and things that people didn't really need but wanted, they could use something like that, especially in these days.

Silently both men hoped that the other stories about the man were true, there were whispers that he had even rescued some water tribe elders and was keeping them safe on board his ship, he claimed they were prisoners.

Yet as both men watched the approaching fleet they remembered how the old men and women were let off the ship and used to heal sick and injured people that were taken to them.

"Okay, that's enough I still have to keep face around the men" Zuko said to Ty Lee yet the girl didn't loosen her grip on him despite he himself already having let go.

"No, I haven't seen you in years, so I'll recharge my Zuko energy." Ty Lee said to him, before tightening her grip.

"Drain touch" he heard Kazuma say before Ty Lee let go of him, she turned to look at Kazuma with a frightened expression, but Kazuma just touched her shoulder and said.

"Feeling better, yeah that trick never fails." he Kazuma said to her.

"What did you do?" Ty Lee asked Kazuma.

"You know how you can stop people from moving if you hit them on the right spot, well you can make people lose their strength if you touch them in the right spot." Kazuma answered her.

"So how do you know Zuko?" Kazuma asked her and Zuko watched the girls frightened expression immediately switch back to a happy one.

"We played together all the time when we were kids" Ty Lee answered Kazuma before turning back to Zuko's direction and walking passed him.

"So who are you?" she asked the girl behind him.

"She's just someone I'm giving a ride to in exchange for payment leave her alone," Zuko said to her.

However Ty Leee just walked around the girl and jumped back towards Kazuma, Zuko had to give credit to Kazuma for not reacting to her suddenly landing in front of him, but when she was bout to say something the voice of one of the men reached their ears.

"Land! I see land in the distance its the port city before we enter the water where the Air Nation used to be!" the man announced before Ty Lee gave him a one last smile running to the edge of the ship and jumped off the ship and landing on the one she had come in with.

Zuko looked at the girl behind him, she was plain by no means was she ugly, but her clothing didn't suit her, not if she was going to keep going into his room and following him where ever he went.

"Kazuma, I know you have women's clothes, don't bother saying you don't, by now I know you're a headache."

"Give her some clothes so people don't wonder why she's on the ship I have some oils and perfumes I don't use, tell the old women to help her get dressed." he ordered Kazuma, who just gave him a wide smile, it wasn't a smirk, but the man didn't show any teeth, it was more like if he was thinking something he wasn't planning on saying anytime soon.

The ship quickly reached the port town and Zuko almost immediately noticed just how depressing the entire place was, there were shops, but no one buying anything, there was fresh food but none was being cooked, in fact, the smells that were common in a port weren't there.

It was like if something had drained the life of the town and its people.

Even the men were hesitant to unload the merchandise Kazuma carried around, they still did it but the normal vigor wasn't there, instead the men were on edge expecting an attack or something to go wrong.

Finally, when all of the merchandise was down and the old men began to walk off the ship, it was only then that the people of the town even dared to walk out and greet them.

Men carried children in their arms and elderly walker extremely slowly towards the ship, all of them holdings handfuls of coins, each one of them held hopeless eyes and faces that looked like if they were looking at the last light of hope in the world.

The water tribe elders, immediately began their work separating themselves into three groups, one for the children, one for the elders and one for those that looked like their injuries were already infected.

Zuko watched the people around him, they were all either sick or had some sort of injury on them, he had seen cuts and bruises like these before, but for an entire town to have them meant.

"Whoever did this, did it for their own twisted pleasure," said his uncle as he walked stood beside him.

Zuko had to agree, everyone in front of him, was either cut by some kind of weapon, sick or their injuries were already so far gone that the infection was already spreading throughout their bodies.

"Tell the old women to forget about what I had ordered them to do, tell them that something more important is down here and tell Kazuma to get down here and watch his own stuff" he ordered one of his men, the man immediately ran back onto the ship.

The old women walked off the ship, however behind them was the same girl now dressed in silks, her brown hair was longer somehow, her skin seemed lighter and somehow glowed as the sun touched it.

Zuko had to remind himself that it was the same girl despite her long dress suited her admittedly good figure.

He wondered why he was doing this, these people were nothing to him, all he had to do was buy what he needed and get out, from here was the Air Temple, he was certain the Avatar was headed there and yet he was wasting his time helping people he didn't even know.

He watched as Kazuma helped in healing those whose injuries weren't so severe and he had to admit, something inside him felt good when the little kid that was on the verge of death was now running around with his parents trying to stop him from doing so.

He caught his uncle looking at him more than once, that was before another ship docked and he found himself once again looking at Ty Lee, the people of the circus began to do their acts, even before they had touched the ground.

Men and women did one act or another, he didn't really care what their acts were, but the time the sun had set, the mood of the town was completely different than the one when they had arrived to.

 

[blueayes]

Line


Zuko



Iroh Zukos uncle



Kazuma

 

[blueayes]

The sounds of men luckily drinking and laughing as the smells of cooked meat freshly baked bread filled the air, normally such a thing was done early in the day but today was special.

OIn just a single day the people believed themselves to soon be dead and on that same day, they were all saved and it was all thanks to the man with the burned face.

Fishermen that knew their craft well, went deeper into the waters to bring the much-needed catch but even as they left behind the celebration they did so with high spirits.

Kazuma had brought out strange sticks that let out tiny sparks when one burned the tips of the sticks, already they were selling and soon he would run out of his supply.

Ty Lee performed allsorts of acrobatic trick and the people applauded her and her fellow performers, on a table nearby the water trib elders ate a meal fit for kings, it was something made by the people of the town as a form of thank you for saving their lives.

On both sides, and from behind several guards watched them, however, they weren't really paying attention to the elderly, after all, they had long realized that people that can control and manipulate water arent really prisoners on a ship in the middle of the ocean.

"DO you need that armor?" Zuko heard his uncle asked him.

"Look I already did something I shouldn't have and if I'm going to have to be present in that celebration of theirs I am not taking any chances." He answered his uncle.

The armor he was wearing was a standard Fire Nation armor, one that common soldiers used, but it was somewhat decorated, considering that despite him being exiled, he was still the prince of the fire nation.

They made their way off the ship once more Zuko wore his armor and his uncle was dressed like he usually was, they found the woman waiting for them, no not waiting for them, she had been bringing food to the men on the ship, they had been forced to keep guard so nothing happened to the ships.

Zuko felt himself stop walking for a brief second, he had just thought
"Good nothing will happen to the cargo or the merchandise"

He quickly dismissed the thought and just kept on walking, he didn't say anything to the woman, as they walked off the ship he noticed the peoples startled expressions but those same shocked faces and fearful gazed soon became eyes that while there was fear there it wasn't the main thing in them anymore.

"Go with him" he heard Kazuma say to someone and soon the woman was walking behind him, she remained exactly four steps behind him like any woman that knew her place should, yet he didn't understand why Kazuma kept putting her in the same place he was.

A man and several women led them to a table prepared for them as they were the guest of honor, Zuko immediately sat down, his uncle besides him and for whatever reason the woman was at his side, he wanted to dismiss her and run her off, but that would mean letting her be placed in unnecessary danger.

They watched Ty lee and her friends do all sorts of tricks and ate the admittedly good food, how could fish be sweet and salty Zuko didn't know but he wouldn't question it either, the food was something he hadn't had before.

Unbeknownst to him however three people had boarded his ship, quickly and somehow slowly they managed to bypass all of the guards and made it to where the prison cells were, but there was no one there for them to see.

The three were surprised to find, comfortable beds, warm blankets, and all sorts of things that made the cells feel like good rooms, but no people.

Soon the three were off the ship once again, it wasn't that the guards were incompetent, after all, it's difficult to hear someone walking when they are floating on air.

The celebration continued until, for a few hours no one being the wiser of what had just occurred, slowly the people began to disperse and the soldiers walked back on to the ship, first a group of soldiers, then the prisoners, however, it wasn't until the prisoners walked onto the deck of the ship that a strong gust of wind sent several soldiers flying into the air.

 

[blueayes]

[Point of view change]

I watched the world suddenly change, I'm not a beautiful woman, never has a man ever looked at me with eyes that said he was taken by my beauty or has anyone ever pursued me.

Its for that reason that I was confident that no one would take an interest in me when I left home, I had heard stories of the Fire Prince and how he was just as cruel and as cold-hearted as his father, Imagine my surprise when as I traveled to the nearest port, that those stories slowly began to change.

The words spoken about him being cruel and uncaring were met by merchants who spoke of a man with a burned face that while cold and distant was by no means cruel, according to the merchants, many captains acted just like him.

The reason being that a captain is responsible for the lives of his men, and sometimes the cargo is their lives, for if something were to be lost, they could all become slave s or be killed.

What I saw that day, was not a cruel man, his eyes were cold and he gave off an air of authorety, but he wasn't cruel.

I watched children play around him, their smiling faces seemed to challenge his constant frown, I couldn't believe my eyes when an old man grinned widely at him and a brown-haired man with green cloths said things to him that only seemed to anger him.


Even when the prince used his fire to scare the two men off, they simply used it for an act and sell their merchandise, it was in that moment that for a brief instance I watched his frown change into a smile, it was only for an instant, but he smiled.

It was then that one could say I took a leap of faith and I wanted to see how far he could take me, my wish was only to see the world, so I gave him some old maps I took from an old soldier and with that, we were on our way.

In the mornings he would be the first man to set foot on the deck, and he would watch the sunrise, how the man knew when the sun rose I don't know, but he was soon accompanied by the old man and the brown-haired man.

Soon the soldiers or sailors on board the ship started doing the same, yet they never joined the three men on their spots, no that part of the ship was reserved for them.

I watched as elders from another land were treated with care, rather than being beaten and treated like beasts an how they would even join the sailors in the morning.

We moved from one port to another, the prince was constantly searching for someone, something, he would move from the port into the town and yet when he found nothing, he would just head back t the ship, his frown never leaving his face.

I watched as the angry look in his eyes softened when he noticed the old man, how I never knew he was the prince's uncle is beyond me, especially considering the man calls him uncle all the time.

When the sun completely rose, the prince returned to his room and everyone did their routine, I began to take him something to eat or drink and as the days passed, the cooks began to hand them to me, saying take this to the prince it's your job after all.

With nothing better to do, I passed the time inside his room and I listened to him as he wrote down everything, his pen seemed to mix with the sound of the ocean around us.

He never spoke to me, so when he ordered his closest friend to change my clothes, I was shocked.

The women from the water tribe, dressed me in garments only a noble should wear and they used oils I could never afford, I watched his expression soften if only slightly when he laid eyes on me.

I watched as he changed a once dead town with grieving people into one that seemed to have always been bursting with life.

So why is this happening?

Zuko covered his hands in fire before sending a burst of flames into the sky, the flames were immediately put out, as water shot itself from the ocean and attacked the flames before they could burn the target of the prince.

"Steal!": Kazuma, prince Zyukos closest friend screamed as a boomerang was thrown at the prince's chest, the boomerang vanished and Kazuma was suddenly holding it.

Soldiers quickly took the water tribe elders below deck and I watched as a boy who had tattoos on his head, arms and legs land in front of the prince, the two looked at each other before Prince Zuko ran towards the by, his fire now covering both his arms and legs.

The people of the town screamed as a massive beast flew down from the sky and began to force the other ships away from the port, the men tried to fight it, but the beast seemed to make the wind bend to its will and used it to put out any flames the men made.

Kazuma ran to the prince's side but a woman wearing blue cloths rant towards him, she began to use water bending and made the ocean her weapon.

Wave after wave was lifted and used to attack Kazuma, the woman forced water onto the ship, not caring that she risked sinking it.

I watched as the ice began to form around Kazuma's feet and he used the very water the woman use as a weapon to build an ice wall between him and the ocean waves.

The townspeople pulled me back and hid men amongst them before they too joined into the fight, they threw stones, used anything they had as a weapon, even when a boy nearly the same age as the prince screamed at them to stop, that they were here to help.

I watched as the attackers were pushed back, by both Zuko and Kazuma and how they were forced to fly away on the back of the beast, I watched as the prince was swallowed by fury and how his eyes became a crimson red before fire covered his body.

I wanted to stop him, but how could I when I'm not a bender.

Everyone suddenly became quiet and I felt my eyes widen as Kazuma pulled the fire from the prince's body and held it in his hands.

"Ahhh!"Zuko screamed enraged by what had just happened before ordering everyone to set sail and walking back into the ship.

Iroh Prince Zuko's uncle signaled to me to get back to the ship and as I ran back onto the ship, I watched the people's sad expressions, once again, the smiling faces of those that happily set them off were now faces filled with grief.

I smiled at them and waved goodbye and they returned to me smiles filled with sadness.

Kazuma used the fire taken from the prince to dry up the ship and I looked at the men's faces, they were the same men that I had seen since the moment I had first set foot o the ship.

Sometimes they smiled, other times they did their jobs with bored expressions, yet this time they all looked like if they could cry.

Some men were filled with rage and others could barely hold back their tears, they wept as if something was either lost or on the verge of being lost.

I walked back to the prince's room and I found that it was locked, I didn't know what to do, so I sat outside and I stade there even when I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore.

 

[blueayes]

"Wake up, you'll catch a cold if you sleep here." she heard someone say to her, and as she opened her eyes, she noticed the smiling face of Kazuma, looking at her.

She felt her behind being wet, and as she tried to stand up, she noticed that there was a lot of water inside the ship.

"Someone left the door open, the soldiers are dring everything," Kazuma said to her as he graved her hand and pulled her to her feet.

"Where are we going?" she asked him, as she noticed the mans face, he wasn't as carefree as always and his smile was strained.

"I don't know, everyone is arming themselves, we arrived at a mountain about an hour ago......I'm not going with them, and neither are you." he said top her.

"....."

"Let's go get you some dry clothes" he said to her as. before they could give a single step, three soldiers walked passed them.

When the men stopped walking past them, they began to walk further into the ship, she remembered the events from earlier, this man had used fire, he froze the water around him, and somehow controlled the air that made the boomerang move in one direction.

"....Kazuma...are...are you the Avatar?" she asked him.

"No, I just know a lot of tricks." he answered her.

Neither of them said anything after that, the sounds of the men marching soon came to an end and the world around them became quiet, they walked past the cells where the water tribe elders were being kept, the men and women were happily drinking hot coffee and talking to one another, as the guards watched them.

We stopped walking when we reached a room filled with boxes and clothing, Kazuma began to look around and he pulled out a red dress similar to the one I was already wearing.

After he handed me the dress he walked out of the room and closed the door.

She immediately changed and she was surprised to find just how wet her dress was, she looked around and found some undergarments after she opened the door, she found Kazuma waiting with four guards.

The guards were the same men that were always at his side, they were talking to someone she couldn't see and she noticed that someone had handed each of them a hot cup of coffee.

Kazuma noticed that she had opened the door and he immediately walked into the room, she watched him search through a box and take out several scarfs.

He walked back to where he was and one by one a guard walked out, the placed the scarf over each one of the men and they walked back into the cell.

"Let's go get some fresh air' Kazuma said to her when he was done doing what he was doing, she was about to say something when she felt the ship suddenly shake, in that instant both the guards and Kazuma ran to the exit and she ran after them.

She noticed two giant wooden ships had stopped next to the ship and immediately Ty Lee jumped onboard.

"Hey" she said to them as she waved at them, one of the guards was out to say something when an explosion reached their ears, it was like if a tornado had suddenly landed and all around them the wind began to shake everything forcing the ships to move.

"Aqua!" Kazuma screamed as she watched a massive bolder fall from the sky onto the ship.

The sound of water rising reached her ears before the impact of the bolder slamming onto water followed, she let out a gasp at the sight in front of her.

The ocean had come to life, taking the form of a woman, the water swirled around the ships keeping the wind and debris away.

"Kazuma" she said, her voice sounded sad ''We're almost done," she said to him before moving the boulders that had gathered away from the ship.

 

[blueayes]

[Kazuma]
The ocean spun around them, Aqua was showing her control over the all of the water around them, from time to time he would get glimpses to that other world she was locked away in and the ongoing war, she and the other goddesses were in.

He had seen the image of Eris tearing of spirits head, he had seen when both Regina, and Wolbach made spirits either kill each other or blow them up using explosion, hell he was barely able to believe that Aqua had drowned so many spirits.

The same goddess he would mess with had done so much damage and worst of all, he knew she was doing the right thing.

Long ago the spirits forced their way into the Human world and took it over, the reason was simple, normal people aren't able to hurt spirits, eventually, ancients granted Humans elemental powers and the humans took back their world.

The rules of the gods are clear, no spirit or god will directly interfere with the mortal realm, and if they do severe handicaps will be placed on them.

This is the reason that Aqua wasn't able to use her full power, and had constant bad luck, but the spirits didn't have any handicaps back them.

Now the gods were making them feel exactly what they made humanity feel, and if one were to say that those spirits are long gone, that person would be wrong, spirits don't die of old age.

The storm ended and her giant form slowly became smaller and smaller, al of the exes water falling back into the ocean until she stood in front of him once again and without a word, she hugged him.

"Kazuma" she repeated before suddenly falling apart again, the only proof of her ever being there, were his wet cloths and whatever water was on the deck of the ship.

He looked down at the puddle of water and turned around, it was almost over, soon he would be able to go home, back to where Darkness and Meguming were and if he couldn't, he would .....his train of thought stopped as he noticed something he would have normally been happy to see.

The water tribe elders were on the floor, kneeling with their heads on the floor and the woman that followed the prince around doing the same thing.

He turned to look at all of the sailors and he noticed that they were all on guards, but other than that, none of them acted as if they had seen anything in particular.

"Kazuma sir," one of his guards said to him.

"Sir, if you want to run away do so now, we will all say we couldn't stop you, but we have to tell the prince." the man said to him.

He just smiled at the man. "How long have I been with you guys? No, I'll stay, someone has to get that guy to lighten up and if things go bad, I'll just blow my way to safety" he said to the man.

After that everyone started inspecting the ships, however, no one said anything to him, not the circus ships, not the water tribe elders, not even Zuko's girlfriend.

It wasn't until the sun went down that the army had finally returned and with it a frustrated Zuko, he watched as his guards told the prince what had happened before pointing at him.

"Kazuma! keep your illusions under control!" Zuko screamed.

"That's all they were illusions" he heard Zuko say to the guard and the man smiled before returning to his side.

He watched as the prince's uncle walked up to him, the old man was still smiling. "You save the fleet and one of his few friends, what do you think would happen if he imprisoned you or handed you over. Mutiny that's what, don't let anyone else see you do things like this, not everyone can see things as clearly as my nephew" the old man said before walking up to the elders and vanishing into the ships.