Gaaaahhhhh! My life has been So. Freaking. Crazy. I have had like no time for anything except eat, practice, and sleep. So i'm sorry for the tardiness of this chapter but i do hope you enjoy it :)
Thanks, And sorry again for the delay.
Also, I made a video a while ago of Zutara Fan Art on youtube but just put it on youtube. It would be awesome if you could watch it just because the Fan Art is beautiful and it's Fan Art that inspire me to write (Along with Reviews:) So check it out if you would like.
Here's the link
.com/watch?v=91iIEgU2hz8
It's called "Zutara- Dream for me.
"Left?" he asked dumbly. "What do you me he left?"
Katara, who blatantly ignored the stupid question, went on to to explain what had happened up until this point. Toph and Sokka, in the need for 'decent' food, had gone out. They invited Aang but he didn't want to if he had to cover up his tatoos. Katara was holding back tears as she explained how he thought he had failed everyone.
Zuko grimaced; he knew that feeling very well.
As if sensing she was becoming too emotional in front of someone who was previously her enemy, she turned away from him and ran up the stairs.
He looked after her, not sure if he should have followed her or tried to comfort her. He never was good with emotions, or words in general.
Zuko decided to walk up the stairs slowly just to make sure she wasn't preparing to jump off the side of the ship or anything ridiculous like that.
As he reached the top of the stairs he looked into the sky that was slowly getting darker. It would be very hard to look for Aang with so little visibility. He looked for Katara along the ship and automatically stepped back down a step at the sight he found.
She was yelling at her father hysterically. Zuko had noticed how cold she had been to the man and it seemed like he was finally getting his answer as to why. She was upset he had left for the war. He closed his eyes when she fell into his arms, crying.
He walked back down the stairs and entered his room. He slammed the door and threw himself onto his bed and stared at the charred wall he was abusing earlier.
The more he looked, the more he became disgusted with himself. That mark on the wall symbolized what his life was. A big black hole of anger, hatred and self pity; and he despised it. Was that all the Fire Nation was? A bunch of people who had anger problems and destroyed.
No a voice inside of him whispered.
His mother wasn't filled with hate. She loved many things. She loved Zuko and then she loved things as small as the turtle ducks that played in the pond of their back yard. And his Uncle Iroh was one of the most calm people he knew and he loved Zuko almost, if not more, than he loved his tea.
A small smile etched its way on his face, but it was wiped off as quickly as it came. The image of Katara holding onto her father flashed through his mind; reminding him of why he was angry in the first place.
How he longed for a father that loved him. Someone who could inspire him to be a better person, a man that could smile down at him proudly or embrace him when he was upset.
"That's something I'll never have." he told himself in a strong voice. It was time for him to stop considering Ozai his father because he had never done any fatherly act toward was time for him to move on and accept this new destiny. A destiny that led to the destruction of his so called father. A destiny of helping his former enemy.
A former enemy who was still missing.
That night could easily be described in two words: Not Fun.
When Toph and Sokka returned they suffered the rage of an angry Water Bender. Sokka was cowering behind Toph in terror as his sister threw her hands up in exasperation. After that, Hakoda sent everyone out to look for Aang.
There was no luck and they all came back to get some sleep and then start the search again in the morning.
Katara stared without really seeing anything at the very front of the ship. Everyone had tried to get her to go to bed. Sokka attempt at using humor failed (for that he actually got a slap in the back of the head), Toph tried using force (failed), and even Hakoda's fatherly attempts didn't work. She just shoo-ed them away.
One by one the crew and members of the ship slunk into the depths of the ship. Iroh was in the captain's wheel tonight. Zuko had recomended him because he knew his uncle had expierence with this before Lu-Ten died.
Zuko had sat with him and Iroh kept glancing by the miserable waterbender who hadn't moved in the slightest for the past few hours.
"She must care for the Avatar deeply." he said absently.
Now the day and night's events were really weighing down on the younger firebender and he bid his uncle goodnight. Before walking down the steps to his bedroom he noticed that Katara was crying.
He groaned and walked towards her slowly. Maybe he was so tired he wasn't thinking staight, but he couldn't just go to sleep knowing that this girl would be crying her heart out. Plus, he was still trying to gain her approval.
"Hey," he said awkwardly.
She jerked around and her eyes widened in the slightest to see him standing there.
"What do you want?"
Zuko yawned and sat down next to her. Katara instintively moved a little farther away from him and Zuko pretended not to notice.
The tension was very thick between them and Zuko looked up at the stars that Katara seemed so preoccupied staring at.
"What are you looking for. I know a little bit about constellations and could point one out for you." Zuko said, trying to break the tension. He wasn't lying, though. His mother would sit with him and point out the stars under their tree by the pond with the turtle ducks Azula loved to torture.
"Him." she said blandly. "I keep thinking that if i look long and hard enough I'll find him soaring with his staff."
Zuko didn't know what to say and instead looked away from the stars and towards the side of Katara's face. There were still a couple tears leaking from her eyes and falling into her lap.
Sensing his stare, she looked toward him with eyes that had lost their usual spark of optimism. Zuko broke the eye contact first and the two sat in an uncomfortable silence.
"So...What is that one?" Katara said, pointing into the starry sky.
It took Zuko a few moments to figure out what she was talking about. He quickly looked at the star she was pointing at and closed his eyes, trying to remember what his Mother had taught him.
"Hyrda," he said slowly as the memories recollected themselves, "this was one of my mother's favorites." A soft smile etched it way onto his face. "It means 'Water Serpent'. She always liked the idea of opposites. The Serpent, which is a symbol for Fire, working with water to create something 'so beautiful'."
Katara looked up at the star and said "It is pretty."
They both stared at it with thoughtful expressions on their faces.
"Zuko, what happened to your mother?"
The air turned cold around them and Zuko instantly bolted up. His mouth hardened and Katara instantly knew she had entered dangerous waters.
"I- I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked you." she stumbled over words, "I probably wouldn't talk to you about my mother."
Zuko let out a deep, calming breath.
"I don't know."
"Know what?" she asked in confusion.
Zuko stood up and looked over the side of the boat. "I don't know what happened to her. I don't know if she's alive or..." He swallowed hard. "I don't want to get my hopes up and then turn out-"
"I'm sorry." Katara said with complete sincerity.
Zuko turned around and arched an eyebrow at her.
"At least I know for sure what happened to my mother."
Zuko nodded his head in a way that showed this topic of conversation was no longer open. She stood up and looked at the ocean herself.
"I'm so worried about him. I worry that he can't handle all of this stuff- that he's just not ready. I mean he's doing great with waterbending, and earthbending is going as good as it can go...but how is he going to master all of these elements in time? He's just a kid."
Her eyes welled up with tears and Zuko felt uncomfortable again. He really didn't know how to handle a crying girl.
"I'm sure that everything will, uhm, turn out right?" he said in a pitiful attempt at cheering up.
She gave a humorless laugh and said "Your not good with these things, are you?"
"No."
She glanced over at him and smirked which caused him to laugh at his own stupidity. The two laughed in a series of different emotions. It was both funny and terrible; humorless and filled with all the sarcastic comments of Sokka. They laughed through their pain of what they were going through. Their laughing was filled with awkward pauses- but still, it was laughter.
When it subsided Katara yawned loudly and Zuko noticed the large circles under her eyes.
"You know, we could take Appa bright and early and look for him." Zuko said when he heard the giant bison snore on the other side of the ship. "but for now we need sleep."
Zuko saw the fight in her eyes; the one that said 'No! I will stay up until i find him. I will not take one single moment of rest until my friend is back', but he also saw that the rest of her had no fight left for the day.
"I guess that will work. And I think we'll have to go on our own after we find him." she said with confidence, not even accepting the fact that they might not find him.
Zuko nodded and the day's hardships weighed down harder on him.
His eyes closed momentarily and he yearned for the bed waiting down below them.
"I'm going to bed now. You don't have to. But i highly reccomend it." and with that he began to walk away and went to his quarters.
He didn't even change as he plopped down on his bed. But before he fell into the land of dreams he heard soft footsteps walk past his room.
And with that he fell asleep with his lips turned unknowingly upward.
Meanwhile up above them, steering the ship, Iroh sat with a smug smile, having watched everything.
"Sparky, wake up!"
Zuko jumped up and glowered at the earthbender's voice. He walked over to the door and looked down at her.
"What?"
Toph stared at him with a large grin. "Is sparky upset that his sleepy time is over?"
His palm lit on fire and Toph sensed the heat pulsating off of it.
"Fine, Mr. Grump Frump." Zuko rolled his eyes at her insult, "It's just that Katara is dead set on leaving right now. We need to look for Aang." her voice sombered up at the mention of Aang.
Zuko suddenly remembered last night and realized Katara was actually sticking to his idea.
"Alright." he told Toph.
She nodded and walked off with Zuko following behind. When they reached the deck they found Katara and Sokka hugging onto their father tightly, saying goodbye. Zuko smirked when he realized that they maybe did cuddle in their spare time.
He walked over to his Uncle and said "So are you ready, Uncle?"
Iroh's eye's widened in surprise. "For what?"
"You're coming with, right?" Zuko was starting to get worried.
"No! I have some things of my own to do." He saw the look that was forming on his nephews face and he grabbed onto his shoulders. "Zuko, this is your own destiny. You made the right decision in Ba Sing Se and now you must act upon it." He pulled him into a tight, fatherly hug.
"But what if-?"
"They won't kill you in your sleep, my nephew." Iroh said with a laugh.
Zuko scowled, not because he was angry his Uncle thought he would think that, but rather because that was where his thoughts were heading.
Katara, who had watched the two's exchange, gently said "We have to go."
Zuko looked back at his Uncle who had always been on his side, even when he was acting like an idiot. The old Prince Zuko would have walked away without saying anything.
But the Prince was gone now, and in his place stood a confused nomad who was going into uncharted territories.
He grabbed onto his Uncle and gave him a large hug.
"Thank You." Zuko said quietly.
Iroh looked confused.
"For what?"
"Everything."
And with that he walked away and climbed onto Appa's back. He wasn't exactly sure where he was going but he hoped it would all be worth it.
As he looked at Katara steering Appa, he had a feeling everything would work out.
Review! Pretty Please with a Zuko on top? (How can you deny that?)