Maiko fanfic - Love Letters (slow updates)

Chapter 6

POV: Sokka

I don't trust this Aang guy, I don't know how gullible the fire nation thinks we are but who'd believe that after almost 100 years frozen in ice some kid airbender could survive and stay perfectly fine. IT'S UNNATURAL. If I stayed frozen in ice for 100 minutes my fingers and toes would have to be cut off from frost bite. This kid is gonna cause nothing but trouble mark my words.

FIZZZZZZZ-POOOOM (the sound of the flare)

It seems that trouble will come sooner than expected, and by the looks of that fire nation ship violently.

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POV:Zuko

As the Wani approaches the minuscule village there are only two feelings deep in my chest. Fear and Doubt. I try pushing these feelings down by thinking about what my father would say. My father would say "It is dishonourable to feel such a way for mere water savages, it is dishonourable to stray from the mission given to you, it is dishonourable to show fear or weakness is battle and it would be dishonourable too hesitate."

I know that father would be disappointed in me, I am nothing but a dishonourable failure in his mind, but maybe once I have the avatar and am able to come back home I could show him how much I've grown. Maybe then he'll finally care about me as much as he cares about Azula. and even if he never loves me at least Mai loves me, she has yet to see how much of a disappointment I am but at least when she finally does we'd have already spent the time together that we did. At least I'll still have the letters.  

I know it's wrong but when I look at these villagers I don't see baby eating savages, all I see are regular people. If anything the children outnumber the adults in the village and almost everyone here is a woman, and none of them look like soldiers. They can't even defend themselves.

We're about to dock on the village so I prepare myself for what is about to go down. as soon as we step off there's a boy, a bit younger than myself, who tries to attack me. he obviously doesn't have any combat training or experience so it's fairly easy to block and counter attack in a quick maneuver. As I continue walking down I realize what I'm looking at right now is the entirety of the village, everyones gathered here looks scared and some have even started crying. But I need to keep going, I can't feel bad for these people. 

"Where are you hiding him?" I bellow. Without receiving any response I then turn my attention over to an old wrinkled woman and pull her to me to face the villagers.

"He'd be about this age, Master of all elements?" I bellow again to get my point across, so that these people know who I am talking about.

When there are still no replies I know the people are hiding him from me.

"I know you're hiding him!"I start yelling because I getting sick of not getting any answers.

This is when I notice the same boy as before picking himself up to try and attack me again. We start fighting each other again with me obviously winning, his actions are being made by his anger and they're so transparent it's easy to see where he plans to attack next. The boy then trows some bent stick at me which I barely even have to dodge but surprises me again when it comes back from behind me and hits me on the back of the head. I'm about to fight back when some kid on a penguin comes racing through knocking me over. It's then I realize he has an airbender tattoo. This kid is the avatar.

The kid gives himself up quite easily after a bit of a tussle but we outnumbered them in terms of active fighters so surrendering was really their only option. Something starts pulling me down on the inside like a weight but that feeling is over shadowed by the joy of finally being able to go home and see Mai again. 

Once we have the avatar on the ship and secured I hold back Aimashi and we start walking towards the mess hall.

"I need a drink"

"Prin-

"You know the rules Aimashi once I'm in the mess hall call me anything but 'Prince Zuko'"

At that Aimashi's tone changes completely from professional to buddy talk.

"Okay man, lemme go get some of the whisky I've been saving. LET'S CELEBRATE! WE'RE GOING HOME"

"WOOOOOOHHHOOOOO" I yell back

As Aimashi is leaving to get some booze when a group of crew members are walking in, specifically Haruko, Goro, Daisuke and Kokoro.

Kokoro is one of three girls on the Wani (Kokoro, Nozomi and Akari) and each of these women are the absolute best people to have around you when you want to party and get drunk. Most rooms have five men to each room but, because there are only three women they have significantly more space than all the other rooms (which they normally use to store booze and food). Uncle also makes me give the women one extra gold coin each for spending money when we're docked. A couple crew members were a bit snippy about it at first and I'll admit I didn't know why we were giving them extra either however once uncle explained it to me and compromised that the extra coin will come from his personal savings I no longer had a problem with it. And I think the crew got over it once the girls started buying stuff for the crew to use together (booze and treats).

"Kokoro! Come over here I wanna get drunk!"

"Zuko! what do you say we start off with a drinking game!" She said from the bar pulling out a deck of cards and a bottle of sake. 

"Sure, what game?"

"War, you know the rules flip a card whoever has the lower card has to take a shot and if the cards match take three from the deck then flip and whoever has the lowest card takes three shots back to back. Ready 1 2 3 Flip!"

She said all that while shuffling the cards in front of me, as Haruko, Goro and Daisuke sit down around me.

We flip and.......

I have a 9 and she has a 7

Haruko starts narrating the game and the others are poking fun, Kokoro takes a shot and we're about to flip over our next card when all of a sudden we hear yelling and growling coming from the front deck. Oh what now........

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Author's note the inspiration for stereotypical drunk sailor Zuko comes from 'Those stories written in your skin' by KrastBannert on Ao3 and this kind of behaviour will continue throughout the rest of the story.