Where There Is Smoke, There Is Fire [Avatar: The Last Airbender Fanfic]

Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Zuko had just finished up in a war room meeting and was heading out to sit outside and have some afternoon tea with Sokka and Suki. He hadn't got any more appointments for the day, and Suki's sessions were every other day, so she was off today. Sokka had already discussed some diplomatic issues with Zuko earlier in the morning, so they could relax for the remainder of the day.

One of the kitchen staff brought out some pastries and other things to nibble on and a large pot of freshly brewed green tea for them, and they sat at one of the tables just next to the gardens. Aang, Katara and Toph would arrive in three weeks, and it felt like it couldn't come fast enough. As they sat and talked about the rest of their friends, wondering how they were going, Izara and Kazan had come out to do some training. Suki noticed first, wondering if Kazan, who was in her most advanced training group, would get a little more out of Izara than the rest of them had seen. Zuko and Sokka followed her gaze, and they watched them go through some of the sets taught in Suki's group.

As if the thought had been mulling in her head for a while, Suki abruptly piped up in the middle of Sokka's sentence.

"Izara has definitely got some experience. She's much better than she lets on." Suki watched with sharp eyes, not missing the lethality in Izara's movements. She was far too perceptive to miss it.

"Firebending may not be her specialty, but when I first met her, I watched her throw a knife at a guy and hit him squarely in the shoulder joint to stop him from using that arm for bending. He was about 20 metres away, and she'd barely glanced at him." Zuko recalled the skirmish when the siege finally broke and how Izara had behaved.

"You mentioned that she was just an assistant to her Uncle, though. It's possible that she learned a lot by being clever and paying attention while living on military bases." Sokka's suggestion would have made sense if not for the few other things that confused Zuko.

"I would agree with you, but a few of the soldiers showed her respect like they would to a commanding officer. It wasn't exactly hidden, but it wasn't obvious either. If she was just a glorified slave for the Colonel, then she had to have done something for them to treat her like that. It wasn't all of them either; just a few. She did mention that she could identify common poisons the other day too." Zuko's answer made Suki's eyes narrow at Izara and Kazan as they continued going through the choreographed sets.

Sokka, Suki and Zuko chatted for the next hour or two. They watched everyone on the training grounds as they drank tea and enjoyed their late afternoon meal. Zuko didn't seem to watch anyone but Izara, and Sokka and Suki quickly noticed this.

Kazan and Izara also worked through some self-defence techniques that Suki had taught in their last training session. The Kyoshi Warrior smirked when she saw proof that she was right. Izara appeared slightly awkward and slow during the session, but when she worked with Kazan, everything was precise and masterful. She even found an interesting extension on one of the techniques and threw Kazan onto his back, putting him in an uncomfortable position with his arm locked up. If he tried to struggle, a bone would break, or his shoulder would dislocate, but they laughed as if it was nothing, and Izara released him and helped him up.

They worked through a few more techniques, and Sokka and Suki distracted Zuko from his gaze by waving in front of his face.

"Hey, man. You awake in there or too busy drooling?" Sokka said with a chuckle as Zuko's eyes focused on him.

"Drooling?" He repeated, not sure what Sokka meant.

"Drooling over Izara, of course. You've been staring at her for hours. You're lucky that looks can't kill." Suki answered with a soft girly laugh at the end.