TOMOKO - burning gold. (atla)

s i x | THE VILLAGE

"ꜱʜᴏᴡ ᴍᴇ ᴀ ᴘᴇʀꜱᴏɴ ᴡʜᴏ ʜᴀꜱ ɴᴇᴠᴇʀ ᴍᴀᴅᴇ ᴀ ᴍɪꜱᴛᴀᴋᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ɪ'ʟʟ ꜱʜᴏᴡ ʏᴏᴜ ꜱᴏᴍᴇᴏɴᴇ ᴡʜᴏ ʜᴀꜱ ɴᴇᴠᴇʀ ᴀᴄʜɪᴇᴠᴇᴅ ᴍᴜᴄʜ."-ᴊᴏᴀɴ ᴄᴏʟʟɪɴꜱ

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now

      IT WAS THE NEXT MORNING, and Zuko was readying himself for the battle was to come. He tied the strings of his armour, and kept his heartbeat slow and calm. Though he'd never admit it, his Uncle Iroh was right about keeping your energy calm. Zuko especially applied it when preparing for any big event, such as one with the Avatar.

He heard a gentle knock at his door, and muttered a light "Come In."

Tomoko crept in dressed in her usual attire, closing the door and leaning against it. 

"Hey." She greeted.

"Hey." Zuko replied.

They both looked at the ground as tension filled the air. "I wanna appologize-" They both started, and Tomoko gave a small laugh.

"Jinx." She joked, crossing her fingers. "You go first."

Zuko shook his head. "No, you go ahead."

Tomoko gave a small shake of the head with the hint of a smile, before continuing with her first statement. "I wanna appologize for last night. I got defensive and we fought-"

"Oko, you don't need to apologize." Zuko cut her off. Tomoko looked up at him with a questioning look. "I hit a sore spot, and you reacted accordingly. You weren't out of turn."

Tomoko shook of her slight shock before shooting the Prince a slight smile. "Is the Fire Prince Zuko, Mr. Brooding Hothead, apologizing?"

Zuko grimaced. "Don't make me regret making amends, Oko." She chuckled lightly before giving him a soft push on the shoulder.

Their eyes met, and a beat of silence fell between the two once again. Tomoko looked deeply into Zuko's eyes, zoning out. She observed her friend, a boy whom she had come to love and trust over the ten plus years of friendship, and brushed over every detail of his face. Her eyes went to the armour he had on, and she spotted his helmet behind him on his desk.

"Was there anything else you came in here for?" Zuko's question broke her thoughts and she was brought back to reality.

"Oh, uh, yeah." She stumbled. "I, uh, I'm gonna be there. With you. When you apprehend the Avatar."

Zuko's eyes narrowed in surprise. "Really?"
Tomoko nodded in response. "Why? I thought you wouldn't want part in it."

"I don't want to be a part of it, really. But if you're gonna do something stupid, we might as well be stupid together." She grinned, but it was a serious look in her eyes. "I want to be there if you need me, Z. Who knows what'll happen, or how serious this whole thing gets. I want to be there to support you and make sure you're ok."

Zuko felt touched by her words, and he couldn't find the ones to respond. Instead, he pulled the girl in for a hug and she reciprocated immediately like the hundred times before when they had hugged.

"I hope you know it means a lot to me, Oko." Zuko finally said, arms still wrapped around her.

Tomoko pulled away with a serious look on her face. "You have to promise me something though, Zuko." Her tone was stern. "You won't go too far. You won't hurt innocent people who aren't involved."