Find Me | Zuko x reader | Avatar the Last Airbender | Book 1

Chapter 18: Six Feet

          Zuko wasn't sure if he had passed out or not. It could've been thirty minutes, or thirty seconds, but when he regained consciousness all he could sense was the loud ringing in his ears. Memories came back quickly, and he abruptly sat up, everything spiraling back into existence.

          Iroh was shaking him, saying his name over and over. His body ached, but nothing else seemed to be wrong, other than the strange pool of water around him in the grass. 

          Zuko looked back at the ship, which was beginning to sink, the entire stern of the boat blown off, everything burning. There were still small pops of tiny explosions going off inside, and creaks of the metal as it sunk. Then it hit him.

           "Y/N!!!" He yelled, scrambling up and running to the boat, through the flaming entrance and into the smoke-filled hallways despite Iroh's yells not to. Zuko coughed violently, covering his mouth and nose the best he could as he ran around the groaning ship.

          "Y/N!" The ship lurched as it began to tip to one side, making it sink faster. "Y/N!!" Zuko's yells were getting desperate, and extremely hoarse from the smoke. Everything flammable was burning, and the metal was falling apart, embers floating through the air. He ran to the stairs, squinting his eyes to see anything but grey and fire, struggling to stay upright as the boat tipped more and more.

          "Y/N!" His yell came out more like a croak, his heart sinking as water began pooling around his feet, rising fast.

          "Right here." The voice was barely audible, and almost too scratchy to make out. Zuko looked around, and spotted a form huddled up against the bottom of the stairs. He scooped her up, and jumped off the bow of the ship as the main deck began to fill with water, landing on the beach and hauling her over to the grass.

          "Y/N! Y/N can you hear me?" Zuko laid her down, and recoiled from the sight. Tendrils of horrible burns snaked up her legs, some of her clothing still glowing with embers, which he quickly extinguished. Her hair seemed relatively untouched, but it stuck to her face, matted with blood. There was shards of metal debris stuck everywhere in her body, most of it in her shoulders.

          "Yea." Y/N rasped with a dry chuckle. "That's why I responded." Zuko resisted the urge to yell at her to shut up before she died on the spot using too much energy for her sass. 

          "Quiet, save your strength. Uncle, help me." The two of them did their best, stopping the bleeding and removing the debris, but there was so much, and Y/N's breathing wasn't improving at all. If anything, she seemed worse, weakly gulping in small breaths of air.

          "She has 24 hours, at most. She breathed too much smoke, and has lost a lot of blood. She needs medical attention." Iroh put a hand on Zuko's shoulder. And where would we get that? He thought. He felt so helpless, hopeless. No ship, no way to get to the Avatar, and the strong possibility of Y/N dying in the next day...

          "I think I call that life debt paid, my friends." Y/N choked on her words, having a small coughing fit that faded into weak laughter. "I didn't have much time to think. Are you alright?" She tilted her head towards Zuko, who gave her a horrified look.

          "No! I'm not! You just used all your water on me?" She just laughed again when he spoke, and Zuko felt like smacking her.

          "I didn't have enough for the both of us, plus, you didn't have to save my butt this time." 

          "Uncle, you need to accept Zhao's invitation to fight as a General. I need to sneak onboard." Zuko looked up at Iroh, who nodded, helping him pick up Y/N. "Y/N can you walk?"