Raised in Earth (OC x Zuko) book 2

Chapter 9

My dreams were variant. Sometimes it was just my imagination and I would be sitting down in front of a box, and in the box I would sometimes see Zuko and the Avatar along with everyone else I knew whereas other times I would see monsters and other things I knew couldn't be real and yet there they were before me. Sometimes I imagined the future, in which I would see Zuko and myself together- those were my favorites. But other times, like tonight, I would only see a strange man shouting at me, yet I could never hear him nor could I read his lips. He would stand half way up a volcano with a dragon by his side, his long white hair and matching beard would be whipping about his face as he tried to tell me something I knew was important, but I never found out what it was. Then the volcano would explode sending molten rock and ash everywhere and my vision would blur, and the man would disappear.
I woke with a start, and found myself waking up alone. Deep in thought about the strange visions in my head, my hand traced where Zuko had been the night before and I found it still warm; he had just left recently. I dragged myself out of bed and rubbed the sleep from my aching eyes as they became accustomed to the unwelcomed light.
We had been in Ba Sing Se about a week and things were going really well. Zuko's mood had gotten a bit better when we weren't serving tea and Iroh was still over the moon with his job.
I trudged into the makeshift living room and found a note on the table.
'Taken Zuko to work early to try new brew! Come when you wake up. There is tea on the counter. -Mushi' it read. I smiled at the thought of him making me tea, it was just like old times on the ship. I poured a quick cup and finished what was left in the pot before running off to the tea shop.
When I walked in through the employee's door I was immediately met by shocked looks. Zuko' eyes were wide and his face was flushed whereas Iroh was concentrating very hard on the teapot in front of him.
"Is everything okay?" I asked unsurely.
"Yes yes of course!" Iroh said too quickly.
"Everything is fine. Nothing is going on." Zuko included. A small smirk graced my face.
"I didn't ask if something was going on babe, but now I'm suspicious. Better watch out." I threatened mockingly. Zuko gave a relieved yet cautious chuckle as he rubbed the back of his neck. I would find out whatever it was, he can't keep secrets from me.
I grabbed the pot that was meant for table three and walked over careful not to spill anything. Behind table three, table five was taken by two men who looked extremely wealthy. Maybe we were getting famous even in the upper ring.
I poured the tea for the old woman who sat before me and bowed respectfully under her angry glare before quickly shuffling away. Some people just didn't age as gracefully as Iroh.
" I think you're due for a raise." I overheard the owner tell Iroh. I did a silent happy dance in my head as I set the pot back on the stove, but before I could fill it with water a loud crash came from the front of the shop.
"I'm tired of waiting. These people are firebenders!" Exclaimed a voice I knew all too well. I rushed to see the commotion and saw an angry freedom fighter pointing one of his swords accusingly in our direction. "I know they're firebenders! I saw the old man heating his tea!" I shot an accusing look at Iroh, to which he shrugged nervously.
"He works in a tea shop." One of the rich men from before defended.
"He's a firebender, I'm telling you!" Jet had a wild look in his eye that honestly scared me.
"Drop your swords boy, nice and easy." The rich guy coaxed. He and his friend stood and prepared to deal with the situation, clearly they were some sort of law enforcement.
"You'll have to defend yourself. Then everyone will know. Go ahead, show them what you can do." Jet said more so to Zuko than anyone else.
Zuko moved quickly and grabbed the swords from one of the officers before once again facing Jet. "You want a show? I'll give you a show." He said angrily.
"Zuko!" I called, unable to keep the concern from my voice. He turned back and gave me a curt, but reassuring nod before looking back at his aggressor.
Suddenly, Zuko pulled a table in front of him with his foot and kicked it at Jet, but the Freedom Fighter quickly sliced his swords into the table and jumped right over it. Jet landed, swinging both hook swords down at Zuko, who deflects the attack and jumps backward on to another table. Jet swung one sword through the middle of the table, and sliced it in half, making a bigger mess for me to clean up later.
Zuko stepped to one half of the table and balanced on one foot. Jet followed up his attack by cutting through the legs on the half of the table Zuko is standing on. Zuko quickly hopped on to the other half that was still standing and lands in a crane stance. Jet knocked this half to the ground, but Zuko jumped into the air and swung both broadswords at Jet's feet as he lands. Jet somersaulted away and landed in a crouching position before charging forward at Zuko... again. Both of them tumbled out of the tea shop and continued to battle, and no one did anything about it.
They charged at one another again and neither of them seemed to have an advantage, at least not one that they would show.
Shift scenes to outside the tea shop. Zuko bursts through the door and tumbles into the street. Jet runs after him and does a few spins before striking at Zuko with both swords. Zuko manages to block the strike and
"You must be getting tired of using those swords. Why don't you go ahead and firebend at me." Jet called, trying to get somewhere with the battle. "Please son, you're confused. You don't know what you're doing!" Iroh pleaded. They both struggled to gain control in the battle.
"Bet you wish he'd help you out with a little fire blast right now." Jet tried again, swinging at Zuko.
"You're the one who needs help." I shouted. I tightened my stomach and forced a pile of rocks out of the earth, separating the two fighters. "Enough!!" I shouted. I knocked jet to the ground and Zuko stood there catching his breath, smoke coming out of his nose.
"You see that?" Jet stood from the ground. "The Fire Nation is trying to silence me. It'll never happen."
"Drop your weapons!" A Dai Lee agent appeared behind me. Zuko lowered his swords compliantly but kept a watchful eye on the freedom fighter. Whereas said fighter only raised his weapons to point at me and the boys.
"Arrest them. They're Firebenders!" Jet commanded.
"This poor boy is confused. We're just simple refugees." Iroh covered.
"This young man wrecked my tea shop, and assaulted my employees." Pao, the tea shop owner, accused.
"It's true sir. We saw the whole thing. This crazy kid attacked the finest tea maker in the city." One of the officers from before chimed in.
"Oh ho ho. That's very sweet." Iroh blushed at the compliment.
"Come with us son." The Dai Lee agents came up behind Jet. Jet turned and swung his sword at then but they quickly counter attacked and Het was held down my clumps of earth on his hands and feet. One of the guards disarmed Jet and picked him up off the ground.
"Wait!" I ran up behind them. "He's just confused. He won't cause trouble again." I wasn't sure why, but I had a really bad feeling about them taking Jet away.
"Get off little girl. This boy is a criminal and will be dealt with accordingly. Get off unless you want to join him." The agent turned and knocked me to the ground, scraping my hands on the pavement. Zuko hurried to my side and helped me up as I brushed off my clothes.
"Something bad is gonna happen to him Zuko." I whispered so only he could hear. "They're gonna do something bad."  I looked down at my hands and saw them bleeding lightly with small scrapes and dirt scattered about them.
"Come on. Let's get you cleaned up." Zuko took me arm and lead me gently back to the tea shop.
"You don't understand! They're Fire Nation! You have to believe me!" I heard Jet struggle behind us and the agents pushed him into a wagon.
Zuko lead me home and we sat in silence as he got a small bowl of water and a rag. He wiped the blood and dirt off my hands, but I didn't watch. My eyes were closed as I tried to shake the feeling that Jet needed to be saved before he got hurt. Something inside me knew he was going to die.
Zuko's motion of wiping my hands stopped abruptly which shook me from my state. I looked up at him but then followed his gaze down at my hands, which were completely fine. Smooth, soft, and completely healed. I ripped my hand from his to get a closer look at the concerning sight.
"What the hell?" I asked absentmindedly as I admired my clean skin. "Ma- maybe it was just dirt, ya know. And Jet might have been bleeding a bit." I reasoned. Zuko seemed lost in thought as he contemplated the situation.
"When Azula struck you, Katara said..." He started before shaking his head again.
"She said what?" I asked, concerned.
"Nothing. Go get some sleep. I'll wait for Uncle to get back." He helped me up politely and took the bowl either with bloody murky water to the kitchen before dumping it over the side.
Not wanting to think about it, I staggered to the bedroom and practically fell onto the mat Zuko and I shared.
Despite my effort, I couldn't fall asleep completely. Some part of me, the same that knew Jet was in trouble, knew that it wasn't Jets blood that had been on my hands but my own.
Zuko came in a time later and I shut my eyes to returns to be asleep. He crawled next to me and nuzzled his face into my neck, wrapping his arms and a light blanket around me.
"Go to sleep." He whispered. I smiled at the fact he knew me well enough to to know I was awake.
With him next to me I felt those troublesome thoughts leave my mind and I fell asleep, meeting once again with the white haired man.