The girl squirmed around in Azula's arms; kicking, screaming, even biting. Anything to free herself. It was terribly infuriating really, but Azula had to admit that Kiyi was a rather worthy opponent. The girl had hindered her quite a bit…for a child anyhow.

Azula had stolen the Kemurikage uniform from a man named Quinn only a few nights back, but she already had a feel for how things were going to work; at the moment it would seem that there wasn't any particular agenda where the kidnappings were concerned. It was just a means to strike fear

A way of indicating that they meant business.

Whoever kidnapped the child watched that child…in a manner of speaking.

There were only two specific targets; Tom-Tom as his father was a miserable failure, and Kiyi for her relations to Zuko.

Even then, whoever captured the children would be the one responsible for them.

Quing-Shou was a particularly nasty fellow, from what Azula had heard of the man, he enjoyed abusing the children.

His good friend Teng-Hu wasn't much better. Though the man wasn't keen on physical abuse, he enjoyed terrorizing the children with horrendous tales and frightening truths.

The lot of the Kemurikage were like that.

For that, Azula had to be the one to capture Kiyi and Tom-Tom.

"Give her to me."

Azula turned to her partner. "So you can get the credit?"

"I just thought you could use a hand."

"I can handle a child, Yuso." Of course Kiyi waited until after she had spoken to deliver another kick. This one connecting with bruising force on her hip. "She doesn't even kick that hard." Azula added through clenched teeth.

"Do too!" Kiyi yelled and kicked again aiming for the same spot.

This time Azula caught the girl's foot with her free hand. "Perhaps it's time for a position change." She muttered to the girl before cradling her like an infant. With the child now only able to give frustrated kicks at the air, Azula continued her quick stride.

These midnight runs would be the death of her.

Epically if Yuso was to tail along with her every time.

"Eh, Quinn, we're almost there." He nodded towards a cluster of ivy, twigs, and blackberry brambles. Azula looked for the large rock, painted with three simple diagonal slashes, that lie a few feet away. The rock served as a landmark. A way of signifying that a secret entrance lie concealed beneath the brambles.

"I know where I'm going."

"Of all the people the boss could have paired me with…"

"The boss didn't pair you with anyone. You decided to follow me." Azula kicked the forest clutter aside and slipped into the passageway, feeling for the ladder with her foot. She turned her attention back to Kiyi. "Now, the floor is pretty far down. You kick at me now, and you'll probably kill us both. So stay still and hold on."

Kiyi hesitated before wrapping her little arms around Azula's neck.

The princess began her descent.

"When we reach the bottom, you're going to do exactly what I say, got it?"

"Maybe."

Azula's left foot met the floor. She turned around, picked up one of the torches and quickly set it aflame.

"Hey you can bend—"

"Quiet!" Azula cut her off. "Did I say you could talk?"

Kiyi pouted and said no more.

"Thought so." Azula grumbled. The last thing she needed was for the child to blow her cover. Mentally noting that if Kiyi had blown her cover that she'd kind of deserve it—she'd have to get out of the habit of using blue fire.

She started down the hall, heading straight until it opened up to a bigger chamber that opened into two more hallways. If she remembered correctly she had to take a right. Then there would be a similar opening and she'd go left. Once more the hall would break off and she'd go left again. She'd reach a dead end with a small hole, where she'd have to firebend, and then she'd be in the area she'd come to know as the conference room. A room where the group held all their meetings and reported their progress and any important information to their leader.

"Wait up!" Yuso hollered, his cry rebounding off the stony walls.

Azula slipped around the first roundabout.

"Aren't you going to wait for your stupid friend?" Kiyi asked.

"He's hardly a friend. More like a setback." Azula trailed off. "What did I say about talking?"

Kiyi resumed her pout.

By the time Yuso had caught up, Azula had the secret passage open. Not leaving him time to catch his breath she strode up to the head of the Kemurikage. "I have the firelord's half-sister."

She could imagine the man smirking behind his mask. "Well done, see to it that the girl doesn't escape." He turned moved head to peer over her shoulder. Azula followed his gaze to meet two more masked figures.

Azula turned back to him, "that won't be a problem."

One of the figures let out a laugh."No wonder Quinn doesn't talk much, he sounds like a woman!" He elbowed his partner. The boy couldn't be older than 17.

"I thought the boss was kidnapping little boys, not hiring them!" Replied the other. Now there was a voice Azula could always recognize, as it was the most annoying she'd ever heard. It sounded as if the boy had a never-ending flu.

Of course, knowing that the voice belonged to Teng made it all the more insufferable.

She rolled her eyes as she headed for the door. Quing took extra care to give her a forceful shoulder nudge, the kind of nudge Azula could have chalked up as an accident had the room been bustling with people.

Feeling the leader's masked stare, she kept moving.

"Have you nothing to show?" Azula heard as the passageway sealed itself again. She almost felt bad for Yuso.

Almost.

"Are you just gonna take that?!" Kiyi piped up.

"For now."

She wandered back the way she had entered, once she reached the makeshift foyer she headed left. The left wing was the residence side of their underground base. She'd go to the left and then down a flight of stairs and take a right.

Azula counted of the room numbers in her head, stopping when she reached door 15. "Welcome home."

Kiyi wore a sour expression, mouth curved down in disgust. The child looked just about as thrilled as Azula felt.

Azula slammed the door shut behind them and set Kiyi on the ground. "Here's the deal. You don't try to escape, and I won't tie you up like the other Kemurikage do."

The little girl folded her arms over her chest, sticking out her lower lip. "Fine."

"Glad we got that out of the way." Azula replied, removing her mask and tossing off her cloak. She was more than happy to get out of that stuffy mask.

When she turned back around she was met by eyes wide as saucers. "You're that crazy lady who tried to hurt mommy!" Kiyi shoved an accusatory finger in Azula's direction.

"I'm not crazy." Azula mumbled.

The girl finally snapped, "I don't want to be here with you! You're mean and I hate you. I wanna go back by Zuzu! Take me back to Zuzu and daddy! . Zuzu. I like him better then you."

Azula lowered herself onto her new small and rather ridged bed, "doesn't everyone?"