Beauty in the Beast (Zutara)

Chapter Ten

                "I'm telling you Zuko, you're paranoid." Mai sighed bored, watching her beloved pace back and forth, her arms crossed. Zuko's hands were locked in his hair as he went back and forth in his room, mumbling about the possibility of someone coming to kill him. The dark-haired girl rolled her eyes hearing him mumble about being killed.

"You say that like you're not from one of the most dangerous families since like...ever." She droned watching his pacing grow more and more frantic.

"This isn't some rival gang, Mai!" He responded. "This is serious and they're hiding something that I should probably know about!"

"Would you just relax?" She groaned, "I swear that girl going nuts got to you or something."

"You saw the note." Mai looked up at him, trying to suppress her irritation.

"And?"

"Someone she knows is after me Mai, and he may not stop with just me!" There was a long pause between the both of them as she looked down, denying the slight quaking in her hands.

"So what do you plan on doing? Demanding her to tell you what's going on and why some psycho is after your head?" She questioned with a scoff, "In case you forgot, she still hates you and if her brother's trying to protect her it's not like you're going to get answers very easily."

"Don't you think I know that?" With a huff, there was a knock at the door. Without missing a beat, Azula walked in with Ty-Lee in tow. Her small but chilling grin made the two shiver as she strut in.

"Seems like I came at the right time. I have some answers about your little...predicament."

~~

Zuko sighed watching his partner finish her last stretches before getting off the mat. The golden rays from the sun setting rested and glistened in her hair as she let out an exhausted huff cracking her joints. He just continued to stare as his blood began to boil. How could she act like this was a normal day, knowing what she knows? He asked himself.

"That was a good work out" She noted to herself with Zuko glaring at the back of her head. She looked behind her curious blue eyes locking on to the kneeling boy as he stared at the wall a little. "Uh," she started, "you alright?" She let out a nervous chuckle. "I mean I know Haru worked you a little hard, but I don't think you landed that badly." Zuko flinched, a dull ache in his shoulder reminding him of the large assistant that had slammed him against the mat earlier. Unconsciously, he rolled his shoulder ignoring the slight sharp pain that shot down his arm.

"I'm not worried about that." Katara raised an eyebrow as he stood up and walked up to the girl, slightly towering over her. "What I am concerned about is this stranger who keeps giving you notes is now threatening my life." He watched her eyes widen a little before she avoided his gaze starring at the ground below them.

"Oh, that's nothing to worry about."

"Bullshit." He lightly snapped. "You were never going to tell me, were you?" The girl sighed and resumed eye contact.

"I didn't think he was going to go after you so quickly. Honestly, I thought we would've shut him down before that happened." The boy scoffed.

"You thought you could handle your psycho ex after the patch job you did last time?" Quickly, Katara's eyes narrowed as she growled.

"How do you know about that?"
"My sister told me about Jet and how for a while you were his little girlfriend." She snarled and pushed him to the side going for her bag.

~~

"What do you mean, Azula?" Mai asked as the two of them were following her down to her room.