A Match of Ice and Fire

Chapter 16: Kaya

Firelord Zuko stopped holding back. Finally, as I could only burn him through sending my water through his flames.
Still, he intensity of his flames, pouring from him at every angle, made the Firelords defences impenetrable. No matter how much snow and ice I hurled at that wall of amber, I only ever succeeded in throw up steam. We became so emmearsed it, I doubted any spectator would be able to make us out. Infact, i couldn't even make out Zuko...

-Zuko! I wirl just in time to catch the firelord blazing over the ice in a flash of yellow. Stumbling back and rolling on my heels, I only just had time to regain my balance before Zuko was coming back for a secound round. One more step and I would have been out of bounds.

I clear the mist with a slice of my hand and stop holding back. We fight till noon. I'm starting to regret challenging the Fire lord to a duel as dawn. But in all honesty, I hadn't expected it to last this long. Really, it was just pure stubborness on his part. The sun was now at its highest. The Firelord unleashed the full fury of his element and I had to slam up a wall of ice just to block him. The Firelord smelt through it in a matter of seconds. I was forced to retreat and, as much as I didn't want to admit it, I knew I couldn't keep this up. My stomach curned. My heart pounded in my chest. Even the blood in my veins seemed to ache with the strain of bending. When I raised my arms up to block agian, they were trembling. I had to come up with a new strategy. Quickly.

Zuko struck again and that was when I noticed it. The faintest trace of a scar across his left side, the almost impercible twinge in his face as he was force to deflect my attack from the left. I broke into a grim smile, as the sun begun its decent, I put my strategy into action.

Targeting the Firlords left side with all my offensives, I aimed for that scarred sweet weak spot just below his ribs. Maybe I had pushed my bending a little too far but wasn't the only one. Zuko chest pounded just as hard as mine. Sweat dripped down his brow and  his face was taking on a greenish hue in the fading ligh. I may have exhausted my reserves, but Zuko was digging beyond them and it was starting to show. His feet dragged in the snow. The twinge on his face becoming more and more noticeable with each attack. His defences lagged. Perhaps, his exhaustion was the reason why, the Firlord hadn't realised for the past four hours I'd been targeting my strikes at his scar, or when the sun finally did set and I  managed to arc my water whip at just right angle below his ribs, Zuko failed to deflect it.

In a hiss of steam I lashed boiling water down straight across Firelord Zuko's exposed chest burning my mark into his flesh. With victorious satatifaction, I watched the Fire Nation's tyrant, stumble out of the ring, clutching his side like wounded animal.

I step forward to claim my triumph just as Zuko collapsed to floor and roared in undiluted agony.