Seizures (Avatar: The Last Airbender Fanfic)

Blue Fire

After returning from looking for Jet's friends, Zuko found his uncle even more anxious. He sat down on his uncle's mat, frowning as he did so. "Something the matter?"

Iroh looked up, frowning as he did so. "Your friend Jet has developed a fever. His body is not liking the torment that he is going through. He is speaking, though, which is a relief."

"I told you, he's not." Zuko leaned against the wall and folded his arms across his chest. "While I admit I would like to be friends with him – still, that doesn't change the fact he doesn't. Are you going to give him something to relieve the fever?"

The old man frowned. "I hope I don't have to give him something to ease the fever. If I give him the wrong thing, I may trigger the seizures again, but the teas I've been giving him are known for taking care of this kind of ailment. I need to stay up watching our friend to see if the fever worsens."

"I'll do it. You've already done plenty, like giving up the bed for me. Did you really have to be stubborn about that?"

"I told you. I prefer the floor." Iroh looked at him carefully. "Are you sure, Zuko, that you want to stay up with him? You've not really liked the conversations you've had with him so far since he's come under this roof, but he's also been pushing you outside of your comfort zone. He told me you told him who gave you that scar."

"I didn't exactly tell him. One thing led to another. He tried imagining why I wouldn't want to talk about my father, and in the said attempt, he figured It out.

Iroh continued frowning. "Zuko, Jet is a very bright boy. These seizures have done nothing to perplex his mind. That's a mistake most people make."

"That is to our advantage as nobody will believe him." Zuko glanced at the ground and leaned forward. "Advantageous. Yeah, right."

"Are you complaining about the fact we're taking care of him?"

"No. I was thinking that if this were a truly advantageous thing for us, Jet and I would end up being friends, but that's never going to happen." Zuko let out a sigh and looked up at the ceiling. He stood, let his uncle take the mat, and took the spot next to the bed. Soon, his uncle's snores could be heard, and his mind drifted off to his father. "Seriously, why did Jet have to bring him up."

Shadows played across the doorway to the apartment as the light passed; in the back of his head, he could hear Azula laughing at him, mocking him for not being the child that the leader of the Fire Nation wanted. He placed his hands on his arms and continued to glare. A sound came from his bunk, and he turned to see Jet stirring but not stirring. He pulled himself closer and touched the older boy's forehead.

With a deep sigh, he looked toward his uncle, wondering if he should let him know that the fever had worsened. Somehow they needed to pull the heat out of the teen's body and disperse it elsewhere. Zuko blinked a couple of times and then stood up to reposition himself to keep one hand on Jet's forehead and hold the other away, forming a flame. He began to feel the older teen's fever go down, and his eyes started drooping despite not falling asleep.

For some reason, the fire in his hand suddenly felt cold. His eyes blinked open when Jet moved near him, slapping his hand away. His eyes opened, and he turned his head towards the teen, forgetting about the fire in his hand. He saw that Jet was glaring at him before pointing at his hand. "You're not a Firebender? That sure says you are?"

Zuku turned his head to look at his hand, remembering that he used his Firebending to control Jet's fever while wondering if things could get any worse. He held up the hand with the palm up and noticed that the fire was, in fact, blue. Zuku felt his body suddenly flinch, and he moved to fling the fire away from his body, fearing her fire would burn him. It landed on a pile of dishes in water, and he heard his uncle awake while he scuttled like a frightened child away from the fire, crashing onto the wall beside the bed.

Iroh looked up, saw the blue flame, and blinked a couple of times. He raised his hand and clenched it with his hand, causing the fire to go out. "Zuko..."

"She's here." Zuko felt his hands go up to his head while he pulled his legs to his chest. "She's here. Azula's managed to find us."

"Zuko. Your sister isn't here." Iroh turned to Jet. "It was my nephew who formed the blue flames, was it not?"

"Yes. It was him. He is a Firebender."

"Well... you're an Earthbender." Zuko snapped.

Jet raised an eyebrow. "I honestly don't know what you're talking about."

"Your seizures triggered dormant Earthbending."

"Sure..." The boy looked at Zuko. "Also, your nephew is dangerous."

"Do you say that because he is a Firebender? You do not say that I am dangerous despite being a Firebender."

"He's dangerous because he has no control." Jet flopped back onto the bedding. "I think I'm well enough to walk now."

"Good riddance."

"So your fever has gone down?" Iroh raised an eyebrow. He looked at Zuko, shaking his head as he did so. "I don't see why you can't walk around. I don't suggest going too far as we don't know how severe your problem is. Zuko, we need..." He paused, watching as his nephew buried his head into his lap. He got up, stormed out of the room, and headed to the building's roof. "Could you keep an eye on him? I can't ask him to come into work today, not when he's like this."

"I don't want to babysit him." Jet glared at the boy. "And what was up with that blue-colored flame?"

"I don't know. So far, Azula's been the only one whose cable created that blue flame, so I don't know if Zuko could repeat what he did or if he even understands what may have caused it. You do realize that he used his Firebending to bring your fever down."

"So?" Jet folded his arms across his chest, then looked away. "So he's not as bad as I thought. I still have this feeling you're keeping things from me. This Azula person, is she his sister? The one he said was a psychopath?"

"Yes. She would be his younger sister, the one who..." Iroh stopped short. "Let's just say she's their father's favorite, as she was always considered a child genius when it came to bending."

"You say considered?"

"She is undoubtedly a child genius when it comes to Firebending, but the reason for that lies with our bloodline. Her father also picked her to groom rather than her brother because she had a personality he could groom to be the way he wanted her to be." Iroh stood up. "I need to be getting to work. I'll tell the shopkeeper that Lee is still helping you."

"That would be a lie."

"It is a convincing one. Plus, if something does happen, it wouldn't hurt to have my nephew around."