Obsession (Zuko X OC fan fic) - Discontinued

23. Trip

I sat watching the terrible display of bending with worry. "Zuko..." I grabbed his arm. "I think you should sit down... I can show him how to fire bend."

"Hey, jerks. Mind if I watch you two jerks do your jerk bending?" Sokka sat down to observe us as eat his apple.

Zuko made a get lost movement with his arm. "Get out of here!"

"You really aren't helping, Sokka." I glared at the boy.

Sokka look amused, as though I were no threat to him. "Ok, take it easy." He dropped his apple core, waved his hand in dismissal of me. "I was just kidding around." He seemed proud of himself. "Jerk bending, still got it."

Zuko dropped his head down and moaned while Aang looked on. "Why is this happening?"

"Um... could it be like when... that time you got sick on Ba Sing Si?" I let go of Zuko's arm.

"I don't know..." He stared at his hands. "I just don't know..."

***

We were about to eat dinner when Zuko seemed to come to a conclusion. He'd sat away from us, meditating for a while, before he finally stepped up to us. "Listen everybody..." Everyone turned their head towards him. "I've got some pretty bad news. I've lost my stuff." Zuko dropped his head  dejectedly.

Toph raised both arms to show she was innocent. "Don't look at me. I didn't touch your stuff."

"He's talking about his fire-bending, Toph." I stood up and appoched Zuko. "Is it..." I didn't even want to think the thought. What if it was gone for good?

Katara laughed maniacally. "I'm sorry. I'm just laughing at the irony. You know... how it would have been nice for us if you lost your fire-bending a long time ago?"

Zuko stared at her with annoyance. "Well it's not lost. It's just weaker for some reason."

Katara held up her bowl and glared daggers at Zuko. "Maybe you're just not as good as you think you are."

"Ouch." Toph said in response to the burn.

I looked up at Zuko. "I bet it's because you changed sides... like that thing in Ba Sing Si."

"That's ridiculous." Katara drunk the contents of her bowl.

Aang thought for a second. "I don't know. Maybe it isn't. Maybe your fire-bending comes from rage, and you just don't have enough anger to fuel it the way you used to."

Sokka rose from his seat. "So, all we need to do is make Zuko angry... easy enough." He proceeded to nudge Zuko in the waist and head with the hilt of his sword several times.

Zuko yelled loudly, "Ok, cut it out!" Sokka stopped and his sword fell on his head. "Look... even if you're right, I don't want to rely on hate and anger anymore. There has to be another way."

"You're gonna need to learn to draw your fire-bending from a different source. I recommend the original source." She put food into her mouth and chewed.

Sokka asked, "How's he supposed to do that? By jumping into a volcano?"

Toph swallowed her food. "No. Zuko needs to go back to whatever the original source of fire-bending is."

Sokka asked again, "So... is it jumping into a volcano?"

Toph shook her head. "I don't know. For earth-bending, the original benders were badgermoles. One day, when I was little, I ran away and hid in a cave. That's where I met them. They were blind, just like me, so we understood each other. I was able to learn earth-bending, not just as a martial art, but as an extension of my senses. For them, the original earth-benders, it wasn't just about fighting. It was their way of interacting with the World."