The Fire Within - an atla fanfic (Zuko x OC)

Ooh

I sat with Iroh on the ship, trying my best to learn Pai Sho. I huffed with frustration and he placed another tile down, a gleeful smile filling his face. I looked at the board in confusion. "Did you just win?"

"Yes I did." He said proudly. "But don't worry, you've definitely improved."

"I don't know, Iroh. If I was better, I think I would've known that you won." I said with a small smile.

Iroh let out a short laugh, and my smile grew. It was our fifth day on the ship, and we were expected to arrive at the North Pole in a few hours. The temperature had gotten cold and it was starting to remind me of the freezing South Pole that I had first been in when I got here.

I looked around, making sure there weren't any guards within close proximity and looked back at Iroh. "I never really told you, but before Zuko's ship blew up, I found out that I am a firebender." I said in a hushed tone.

Iroh nearly spilled his tea. "A firebender?" he said, slightly loud.

I motioned for him to quiet down and then bit my lip, concentrating on my finger. A steady stream of fire slipped out of it.

Iroh placed his cup down. "What caused you to find out?" He asked.

I shrugged. "I don't know, I was just yelling at Zuko and fire came out of my hands."

"This means you must be related to someone from the Fire Nation." Iroh said, brushing his beard thoughtfully.

"Yeah, and it doesn't make sense." I replied.

Iroh stopped stroking his beard. "I have reason to believe that your father is from the Fire Nation."

"Why would you say that?" I asked.

"The way you described him seems pretty Fire Nation."

I thought for a moment. He wasn't wrong. Dark brown hair and brown eyes were pretty Fire Nation-ish. "Ok, that's probably right." I closed my mouth and straightened up as I saw Zhao start walking over from several meters away.

He sat down at our tiny table. "General Iroh, Ash-Lee."

"What's up, Zhao?" I said, a smirk plastered on my face. I hated Zhao, so it gave me some amusement to annoy him.

Zhao ignored me. "We are only a few hours away from the Northern Water Tribe." He announced to Iroh.

"The Fire Nation is close to victory." Iroh commented.

"Yes it is." Zhao responded proudly. "We will see history in the making."

I looked at the sky in boredom.

"Ash-Lee, you don't seem very excited." Zhao responded.

"I'm saving my excitement." I responded dryly. To be quite honest, I could care less whether or not they won. All that really mattered was that Zuko got Aang. I knew that if he didn't get him now, everything would be for nothing.

Zhao narrowed his eyes at me and I tried not to glare back at him. I stood up, trying to get away from him. "Excuse me, I feel very tired all of a sudden." Iroh nodded, and I began walking to my room.

I walked down the hallway and glanced behind me in mistrust, thinking I saw a shadow in my peripherals. No one was there. I kept walking, a tad bit quicker this time, my pace growing even quicker as I got paranoid. I sped past a guard and basically ran a few feet until I got to my room and started to slam my door closed. A hand came through the cracked door and stopped me from closing.

I sighed as Zhao pried the door open and walked inside, giving me a dirty look. He closed the door behind him.

"Wow, I could tell someone was following me." I said, rolling my eyes slightly. I was growing tired of this fool. I walked over to my desk and started tidying things up to make him leave. He walked over close to me and grabbed my walkman, pressing a bunch of buttons on it forcefully. "What the hell is this?" He questioned.