Play With Fire ~Zuko X Reader~

-19.5- Assassin and Friendships

"Aang, I know swimming is fun and all, but do you really think you should be exposing yourself like that? Cover up."

We were relaxing in a hidden hot spring. And by 'relaxing' I mean the other's were relaxing while I tried to sleep. Katara's orders.

"What? I'm wearing trunks."

"I know. It's your tattoos I'm worried about. What if someone sees you?"

I sat up, "Toph, you can't even see his tattoos. How do you know they're exposed?"

Katara turned on me, "(Y/N)! Sleep! Now!"

I laid back down, "Fine..."

She turned back to Toph, "There are walls all around us. It's completely safe."

I couldn't fall asleep. Now we were all going to sleep. I laid with my back to the ground, my eyes on the sky.

Toph sat up near me, "Guys, you're all gonna think I'm crazy, but it feels like a metal man is coming."

I immediately sat up. Aang groaned as a light shown in his eye. I looked to find the source of the light, and I saw the assassin's medal hand. Within seconds, the land near us combusted. Earthbending blocked the attack, keeping us from dying, but we were still flug back. He kept attacking. I soon noticed a slight pattern. He kept attacking places that could kill the others, but not me.

Dust filled the area.

"This is crazy!" Sokka looked at the team, "How can we beat a guy who blows things up with his mind?"

"We can't! Jump on Appa! I'll try to distract him!"

Aang went to go and distract the metal man, I stopped him.

"Go!" I pointed to Appa, "I need to stand between him and us!"

He nodded and went to join the others, Appa was ready to take off, dust curled around us. I ran up Appa's tail as he soared into the sky. Aang grabbed onto my hand, pulling me aboard.

"He was avoiding me," My voice came out in slabs of breath, "The attacks... They were set up so I wouldn't be killed... Horribly injured maybe... But not dead..."

Sokka looked at me, "Why..?"

A small part of me knew, "I don't want to think about it. Let's just use it to our advantage if he attacks again."

Toph turned to us, "Well, that was random."

Katara frowned as she checked Aang over, "I don't think so. I get the feeling he knows who we are."

Aang had directed us to his past life's home. Apparently, Avatar Roku had told him to go so they could talk.

"There it is. That's Roku's home."

Appa landed on a decimated island. Katara looked around, "But, there's nothing here."

Toph placed her feet on the ground, "Yes, there is. An entire village, hundreds of houses... all completely buried in ash."

Aang made his way up the mountain.

I turned to the others, "So are we just going to chill here? 'Cus I don't want Katara to try and get me to sleep again."

She turned on me angrily, "Well you need sleep! You can't run on nothing!"

I smirked, "I eat don't I? That means I don't run on nothing."

Sokka stopped his sister from killing me, "Let's follow him."

The siblings were disturbed as soon as we reached Aang. I had given up on emotions, so it didn't really affect me.

Aang was squatting on a rock, groaning and looking constipated. He then smiled with relief.

Katara looked on in disgust, "Do they have bathrooms in the Spirit World?"

Sokka raised his finger, "As a matter of fact, they do not."

I looked at him, "You been there before or something?"

He looked at me with a smug look on his face, "As a matter of fact, I did!"

"When?"

He crossed his arms, "Before the winter solstice."

"Ah," I didn't want to think back that far, "Okay..."

Aang came out of the spirit world a few minutes later, and told us Roku and Sozin's story.

Katara's eyes widened, "You mean, after all Roku and Sozin went through together, even after Roku showed him mercy, Sozin betrayed him like that‌?"

Toph crossed her arms, "It's like these people are born bad," she then remembered I was there, "You're the exception."

I rolled my eyes, "Thanks."

"Even with (Y/N) as an exception," Aang looked up from the ground, "that's wrong. I don't think that was the point of what Roku showed me at all."

Sokka shrugged, "Then what was the point?"

"Roku was just as much Fire Nation as Sozin was, right? If anything, their story proves anyone's capable of great good and great evil," Aang smiled at me, "Everyone, even the Fire Lord and the Fire Nation have to be treated like they're worth giving a chance. And I also think it was about friendships."

Toph kept her eyes on the dirt below, "Do you really think friendships can last more than one lifetime?"

Aang took her by the hand, "I don't see why not."

I grabbed onto Aang's hand, as Katara grabbed Toph's other hand.

Sokka looked on, "Well, scientifically speaking, there's no way to prove that..."

"Oh, Sokka, just hold hands."