Prince of the Fire Nation and Shadows

Chapter 11: Zuko's Banished and Other Shadows

"Osamu...I'm glad to see your awake," Zuko said with a dead voice. Zuko then turned away from his twin, eyes focused on the bags before him.

"Zuko, why are you packing?" Osamu eyes darted back and forth from the luggage and Zuko himself, begging for Zuko to dispel the suspicion and fear he already knew to be true.

Zuko paused, still holding a folded red garment in his quivering hands. He answered with his back still turned and said,"After the duel...Father told me that by refusing to fight, I showed weakness. I am being banished, Osamu. At least... until I have captured the Avatar. Only then shall I be allowed to return home with my honor."

Osamu closed his eyes and cursed quietly to himself. The Avatar, according to his studies, had not been seen for 100 years. If he had been reincarnated, he was hiding himself very well and the chances of Zuko actually finding the Avatar was close to zero. Their father was sending Zuko on a fool's errand. Just like he lost his mother, Osamu was going to lose his twin.

His thoughts were interrupted when Zuko spoke to him again. "Azula managed to acquire me a ship and Uncle found me a crew. He will be joining me in banishment to assist me in my mission. Hopefully, it will take me a year at the most. I'll find the Avatar and Father will welcome me home and everything will be back to normal." His last sentence was laced with so much desperation and longing that Osamu did not have the heart to crush what little hope Zuko had.

Someone began knocking on the door before Osamu could think of something encouraging to say. Uncle Iroh came into the room, face grim and sad, two servants followed him in and began grabbing his bags and carrying them away.

"It is time to go, Zuko." Iroh's voice was gentle, kind. It was almost like he was talking to a skittish, hurt animal. "Ah. I see that you are well Osamu. Will you be seeing us off at the docks?"

"Let's depart now, Uncle," cut in Zuko. "The sooner we leave the sooner we'll have the Avatar in chains."

Shouldering past Iroh, Zuko quickly left the room without once looking back. Both of them left not long after that and the only one happy about it was the Fire Lord.

Later That Night

Sleep refused to come to Osamu that night as he sat wide awake in his bed. The room was dark, his trained eyes still able to make out all the objects surrounding him. He could see his desk that contained all the scrolls that lay neglected, his wardrobe that Azula was fond of hiding in, painted pictures of different places around the world from his travels covering his walls, and scattered around in his room were beautiful furniture positioned around tastefully.

'Zuko is probably headed to the nearest Air Temple right now to begin his search. He knows deep down that Fire Lord Ozai has assigned him an impossible task, but he won't give up at the slim chance that the Avatar is still live. He'll keep trying, just like Naruto...'

Osamu sighed and shook his head. Right when he was about to lay down he heard a slithering sound entering his bedroom. It was similar to that of a snake as it rose from under his door but he knew better, it was a shadow. Osamu rose quickly and quietly moved to the corner of his room, blending in with the shadows in wait for the intruder.

He watched as the large shadow slipped into his room and stopped at the foot of his bed. Slowly, the shadow rose from the floor and began to reform itself until it resembled a female around the age 15. She was a slightly plump girl, dressed in simple clothes of red and pink, her eyes a deep brown. She looked confused as she stared at the empty bed, hands trembling and breathe coming out shaky.

"Where is he? He was supposed to be here!," she loudly whispered. She began to pace the room in panic, her trembling spreading from her hands to her shoulders and legs. "I know I saw him come in here!" In a matter of minutes she turned the entire room upside down looking for the very teen hiding in the darkest corner.

"Are you looking for me?" he asked in a dry tone while appearing in front of the girl, leaving her in a state of shock from witnessing him materialize from the shadows.

She stood staring at him like a fish gasping for air, her mouth opening in an attempt to speak and then closing to just repeat the action over and over. "Y-your like me. Your...a shadow bender!" she managed to get out just to resume her previous action.

"What a drag," the boy sighed. "Yes, I am a shadow bender and from what I just saw, so are you. What are you doing in my room?"

The girl's face went from shock and amazement to pure hate. The room became a pitch black as the girl began to tremble once again, her teeth sinking into her bottom lip. Osamu was on guard, prepared for the girl to attack, but for the longest time she just stood there. The silence stretched on to the point that it almost became unbearable. It was only when tears began to run down her face that the room went back to its' previous state.

"My name is Mariko and your father is the reason my family is dead."

Osamu didn't react outwardly, but inside he felt a fire burning deep in his gut that wanted to erupt. 'How many lives do you plan to ruin and take, Ozai? Is this just the beginning?'

"I was happy at one time. I had two parents that were filled with so much love and kindness, a brother that loved to joke, and a grandpa that loved to tell stories. We lived a peaceful life in a small village and though we did not have much, we were content, we were all happy. At least, we were until the Fire Nation's army came. They came to forcefully recruit my father and my brother, both of them being fire benders. My father begged them to let my brother go because he was still too young. But they refused and my mother, well, she refused to accept it. She attempted to fight them in hopes of freeing my brother and it cost her life. My father, in the heat of anger and grief, retaliated and killed the bender responsible. In the end...my father and brother were also dead. Even my poor grandpa that shielded me from the flames being shot around. And...the army just left. Left me surrounded by my family's corpses and my house in flames."

'She's still just a kid and she had to see all that. Everyone she loved is gone and now she is alone.' Pictures of Sasuke began to pop up in Osamu's mind before he forced them away.

"I could of stopped it, you know. I could have fought-," she sobbed, tears and snot becoming one as they poured down from her face. "But I froze! I couldn't do anything and now they're all gone!" Mariko wrapped her arms around herself, hugging herself in an attempt to keep from falling completely apart. "That's why I'm here. To get revenge against the Fire Lord. It was because of his orders that my family is gone. I already killed the soldiers responsible and now all that's is left is to kill you. The Fire Lord will surely weep if he were to lose his favorite son, right? Feel the same pain and suffering I felt? I mean, that was the plan..."

"Was?"

"I can't do it." Her voice was soft, hardly more than a whisper. "You can control shadows like I can. The only other shadow bender I've met so far and-"Taking a deep breathe she said,"You have nothing to do with what happened. I don't know why I was actually going to-" She turned away from Osamu. "You should probably call the guards now. I promise I won't resist. After everything I've done, the lives I've taken to get here, to get to you...I don't deserve to be alive. I-I j-just want to be w-w-with my family." She collapsed to her knees, her head lowered in defeat and surrender as she began to cry even more without restraint.

"So your just going to run away?" Mariko slowly turned around with her body facing Osamu. "Are you selfish enough to spit on your grandpa's sacrifice? The man gladly gave up his life for you in hopes you would live a long life. Instead of living your just going to die? Sorry, but I'm not going to let you do that." Maiko had stopped crying and was staring up at him now with her full attention. "You owe it to family to live life to the fullest, to enjoy it enough for all of them. You also owe it to the lives you have taken to get to this point. After all, how can repent if your dead and how can you make a difference in this world if you can no longer breathe?"

"Make a difference?"

"Yeah, that's what I said. Like you, I have also lost someone dear to me; my mother disappeared a few years ago and I have no idea what could have happened to her. My father burned and exiled my brother for speaking out of turn, his own son, so I know better than anyone what kind of monster that man can be. As long as he sits on the throne the world will never know true peace, children will never be able to dream, and hatred will become a never ending cycle, which is why I ask you this simple question. Will you fight with me to help change this world?"

"To change this world? How do plan to do that?"

"By slowly taking over from the shadows." Dropping lazily to the ground, he knelt down in front of her, meeting her gaze with a fierce expression. "It won't be easy, the Fire Lord is not a fool and he trusts no one fully. Not even me... That's why I need you to become one of my soldiers, to fight with me to change this world for the better. Help me end this war to bring forth an era of peace. Let's show the Fire Nation, all the nations...that light shines the brightest, the strongest, in the darkness of the night."

"I-I don't know! I want to believe in this dream, I want to believe in myself, but..." She lowered her head once more.

"Then believe in me!"

Her head shot back up!

"Put your faith in me and I'll put mine in you. Become my comrade, my friend, Mariko."

"Alright," she whispered.

And that's all I wrote. Tell me what you think.