Fighting Fire with Fire ~ ☼ ZUKO X OC ☼

Chapter 11

☀ Zuko ☀

I couldn't stop thinking about Virra for the rest of my shift at the tea shop. Her friend's words had provided the clarity I needed, yet I felt as though it had only caused more confusion and internal debates. I finally decided to push any thoughts of her away as there was nothing I could do about it now, well at least I told myself there was nothing I could do. Instead, I focused on finding the avatars' air bison before he did and with it, not only my honour, but the feat I needed to get me back home.

Uncle fell asleep not long after sunset, so it wasn't difficult for me to sneak out of our apartment to continue my search. Ba Sing Se is definitely not a city to my liking, however I can't deny it is the perfect setting for some to sneak through the shadows without getting caught. Lowering my Blue Spirit mask, I peak down the alleyway where I find a Dai Li soldier approaching me. Removing him isn't an option, that will only bring more attention to the outer ring, which is definitely something my uncle and I don't need if we plan to stay here long term.

I hold my breath as he passes the alleyway I hide in, quickly returning my mask to my face as he continues on his way. What a pathetic soldier, not even bothering to check the shadows. I snort with embarrassment on his behalf, before quickly rushing to the edge of the alleyway to see where he does. I need to redirect him so I don't have to deal with a confrontation this close to my apartment and the teashop. Taking in a shallow breath, I walk out of the shadows and begin sprinting towards him.

"Out of my way skinny!" I grunt, while shoving him over and running down the closest alleyway. Knowing the stumble will allow me some time, I quickly assemble the body like structure out of bags of hay that I had put together days before. I have been following this man's route for weeks now, picking up on every detail of how he goes about his patrol, from the way he breaths to the colour of his eyes.

I hear his footsteps approaching, signalling to me I must remove myself from where the moonlight can see me and into the shadows once more. Standing near the entrance of the alleyway, the man once again runs right past me before stopping in front of a scale doll of my disguise. Without a second thought he bends the earth beneath his feet into a fist like shape, before thrusting it straight into the core of the doll. It is swiftly followed by another hit to the throat, completely knocking off its head. Perhaps I underestimated the abilities of this man.

He rushes over to the body now in pieces on the floor, staring at it with confusion and shock, frozen before it. I quickly draw my dual blades and sneak up on him from behind, before grabbing his arm and bringing my blade to his throat.

"If you don't want to end up like him. You'll do what I say." I growl, my grip tightening with each word and my sword inching closer to his throat.

☀

It didn't take much for the man to give me the information I needed, turns out having a loving family to go home to is a big deal breaker for most people, I wonder what that's like. All I have is the memories of a loving mother, a father who banished his own son and a psychopathic sister, that is not a family.

I keep my footsteps light as I hurry down one of the underground tunnels running beneath lake Laogai. After a few empty threats and not one but two blades to his throat, the man informed me that the air bison was being held captive in the Dai Li's secret base in the Agrarian Zone of Ba Sing Se. It took me all night to find a way in and now the fatigue weighs down heavily on my shoulders as I try to keep my guard up as best as possible. I wonder if my Uncle was worried when he woke up and I was not in my bed. I know he isn't stupid enough to think I went to the tea shop early, so it makes me ponder to think about where he thinks I might have gone. Maybe he thinks I went to find Virra? I snort at the idea in my head as the hallway around me becomes recognisable to the description the soldier gave me.

I finally reach the end of the hallway and with it a large door, one big enough to fit a bison through. I feel the corners of my mouth pull into a grin beneath my mask as I fidget with the lock on the handle. The satisfying click brings a spark of hope like never before, my honour and future awaits on the other side of this door.

A thin line of light shines down the dark room as the door creaks open, the bison behind it standing up as I meet its gaze.

"Expecting someone else?" I chuckle to myself as the bison studies me. I wouldn't be surprised if he recognised who I was purely based on my voice, I know that air bisons are one of the more intelligent species of animals.

I pull one of my blades out of the sheath on my back as I walk into the room. The bison tries to step back while growling at me but is limited by the chains around his legs. Yep, he definitely knows who I am.

His growls become more aggressive as he begins to advance towards me instead of attempting to flee.

"You're mine now." I growl back, standing my ground as he attempts to raise his paws to attack me. The light from the door opening catches me off guard but I quickly recover, turning around with my swords up to face the intruder. Shock and confusion rush over me as I see my uncle standing before me as he closes the door behind him.

"Uncle?" I exclaim, slightly lowering my swords.

"So the blue spirit. I wondered who could be behind the mask." He states while bringing his hand to his beard, making me roll my eyes.

I let out a sigh of annoyance before removing my mask to meet his eyes properly, "What are you doing here?" I mutter.

"I was just about to ask you the same thing!" He snaps, clearly unimpressed by my irrational actions. "What do you plan to do now that you've found the Avatar's bison?" He questions while walking towards me. "Keep it locked in our new apartment?" He chuckles but his eyes are filled with frustration as he stops in front of me. "Should I go put on a pot of tea for him?" He growls letting his true emotions escape with his tone.

"First, I have to get it out of here." I snap back, turning to look at the bison over my shoulder.

"And then what!" He shouts now consumed by his anger, "You never think these things through! This is exactly what happened when you captured the avatar at the north pole!" He shouts, pointing at me. I snap my eyes away from him, not wanting to bear the idea of my uncle hating me too. It's one thing for my father to yell at me but with Iroh it's different.

"You had him and then you had nowhere to go!" He yells.

"I would've figured something out!" I shout back, not in the mood for one of his life lessons.

"No!" He grunts, "If his friends hadn't found you, you would have frozen to death!" He yells at me. I can't help the irritated growl that escapes my lips, he doesn't understand, I will do anything to get the Avatar.

"I know my own destiny uncle!" I snap at him.

"Is it your own destiny? Or is it a destiny someone else has tried to force on you?" His frustrated voice bounces off the walls of the room.

"Stop it uncle." I shout back, how dare he question my destiny. "I have to do this!" I turn away from him, facing the bison once more.

"I'm begging you prince Zuko!" He exclaims behind me. "It's time for you to look inwards and begin asking yourself the big questions." The muscles in my jaw twitch as I clamp my mouth shut, the anger bubbling in my stomach becoming harder to suppress. "Who are you, and what do you want?" He continues.

An irritated groan growls from the back of my throat as I throw my swords and mask on the ground. I think about everything, all the people in my life, the things I have done, the good, the bad, all of it. I can't stop my mind from wandering to Virra and if she has found a life for herself in Ba Sing Se without the torment of our sisters and Mai's shadow constantly cast over her. I think about the Avatar and his friends, the measures they have gone to in order to get away from me time and time again. The things the people around them have had to sacrifice in order to keep them safe, the towns I've destroyed, the lives that have been ruined, everything.

"I want-" My voice is strained. "I want you to help me free the bison Uncle." I mutter, turning back to face him. His lip creeps into a small sombre frown as he looks back at me.

"Very well, nephew." He nods his head and walks to my side, gently resting his hand on my shoulder.