The Half of Me | Zuko

Chapter Ten: Ryoko's Questions Part 2: The Fight

Ryoko woke up with a sweat and gasping for air. It felt so real, like Roku's animal guide was actually with her, but who was to be sure that he wasn't. A dream like that could be anything.

She couldn't get the visions out of her head. They were a plague to her mind and yet she felt some sort of relief. Finally she got some sort of answer even if it wasn't told to her. Seeing the previous Avatar's dragon brought her comfort strangely. There was something there to tell her she wasn't insane in her debate with herself. Ryoko looked up at the ceiling, trying not to think about the heat of decisions for once and find time to sleep.

Laying in the bed though, was exhausting. Ryoko lived two years at sea, being in a bed that wasn't on a ship did not feel right anymore. She knew that Zuko, Iroh and the rest of the crew would not be there if she opened the door to the hall. It wasn't so easy to leave after so long. It almost brought tears to her eyes. Ryoko closed them tightly and turned away from the door, facing the wall, trying her best to slip into sleep.

The next morning, Ryoko exited her room to find everyone was outside except for the guards that roamed around the halls. The halls were just as dark as the ship as she walked around. She cursed to herself, shaking her head. Her thoughts kept drifting there, to the ship. Even if it was for a moment, Ryoko knew she had to forget the ship for the time being.

She went outside, the sun beating down on the base. The warmth welcomed her, but she looked around and felt otherwise. Some of the soldiers and Zhao's associates looked at her with disdain, others looked at her with expressions unknown to her. Was it fear? "Ryoko," she hears. Ryoko turns in her armor seeing her father walk up to her. She bows her head slightly in respect and then looks back to the soldiers. "You look as if you got no sleep. Something troubling you?"  Ryoko gave a look to her father who stood beside her now, adjusting her stance to be taller. It astonished her how he could change so suddenly. Could he really find his mistakes and fix them for her? Could he be the father she wanted for so long?

"No, it's nothing." She feels his hand pat her shoulder and she flinches. The same shoulder he burned that spread near her chest and down her arm, yet the memory was never burned into her. She could barely remember why he did it, all she could remember is that he burned his own daughter through chaos and never acted the same since towards her.

"If you're worried about that banished prince, don't be."

"I'm not worried about Prince Zuko." She didn't worry but she'd be lying if she said she didn't think of him. She left him so abruptly, she felt the guilt through the night and near her father she would have to push it down. He was her best friend, by her side since they were children and through his banishment. She knew that she cared deeply for him and what he thought. After kissing him and then leaving Ryoko continuously played it in her mind. Why did she kiss him? Did she like him?  

Zhao chuckles and she clenches her jaw out of his sight. "Good. He's not worth your precious time. We have a lot to catch up on."

Ryoko sighed and kept looking forward at the training between soldiers. 2 years ago her father would tell her training was unnecessary and useless to her. He seemed to go back on most of what he said, it just made her wonder why. "Father, did you really mean what you said in your note?"

"Of course, why would I lie?" Why would he lie? That was a question that rung inside her head. "The past is the past, Ryoko. Focus on now." Ryoko didn't want his words to get into her head. Did he want her to not focus on the past because of everything he did? "Why don't you train with some of my men? I'd like to see what Iroh has taught you while on that ship, no doubt he managed to try and train you in some way." He smiles down at Ryoko and for a moment, Ryoko felt a twinge of hope. She gulps, facing the men now who were just about to finish their sparring. She felt her heart race as her father yelled out next to her. "You two! I want to see my daughter do the basics."