𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐌𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐆𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 [ᴢᴜᴋᴏ]

nine

The girl was about to raise her fist and punch Zhao when Iroh put a hand on her arm to stop her. She glanced at the old man who only shot her a knowing look before stepping beside Zuko.

"Prince Zuko, that's enough," Iroh said and looked at his nephew pointedly. He already felt an argument coming and wanted to prevent Zuko from blowing up and thus causing Zhao to take more actions against the prince. It was already enough that the commander had fleets prepared to catch the Avatar before anyone else.

Zhao, on the other hand, enjoyed himself very much. It had been quite a while since he had felt superior to someone to that extent. "You can't compete with me. I have hundreds of warships under my command, and you..." A wide smirk grew on his lips, "you're just a banished prince."

Jasmine gulped and clenched her jaw. When she felt the heat radiating from Zuko, she took a step away from him, afraid that he would go up in flames any moment.

"No home, no allies," Zhao slowly added, taking in the satisfying feeling of belittling the prince. "Your own father doesn't even want you."

"You're wrong!" Zuko took a step closer to the commander, glaring at him. "Once I deliver the Avatar to my father, he will welcome me home with honour and restore my rightful place on the throne."

Jasmine carefully glanced at the prince. Oh god, what kind of family problems does he have?

"If your father really wanted you home, he would have let you return by now. Avatar or no Avatar," Zhao said, knowing damn well he was right. "In his eyes you're a failure and a disgrace to the Fire Nation."

She pressed her lips together and gulped. She might not have liked Zhao but as far as she could guess, he was right. But Jasmine would never admit that out loud. A parent's love should be unconditional. They should accept and support their child in any way and not send them on an impossible quest; the Avatar was said to be dead after all . What kind of parent does that?

"That's not true!" Zuko was quick to counter Zhao.

"You have the scar to prove it."

Zuko got into the commander's face. "Maybe you'd like one to match!"

Oh shit, guess commander asshole hit a nerve. Jasmine gulped and glanced at Iroh who seemed to be calmly observing the situation.

Zhao put his hands behind his back and raised an eyebrow. "Is that a challenge?"

"An Agni Kai, at sunset," Zuko said and nodded.

"Very well." Zhao nodded with a smug smile. "It's a shame your father won't be here to watch me humiliate you. I guess your uncle will do." He briefly glanced at the old man.

Jasmine knitted her eyebrows, having no idea what they were talking about. She slightly leaned towards Iroh. "What is an agni kai?" she asked him in a hushed tone.

Zhao quickly snapped his eyes to her, his smirk widening. "Take her." He nodded his chin in her direction, having the guards take action almost immediately.

Jasmine's head snapped up. Her eyes widened when the guards grabbed her arms. "What?! Hey let me go!" The girl struggled against their tight grips but to no avail.

The girl tensed when Zhao came closer to her face. "You'll help me find the Avatar," he said.

Her face scrunched up in disgust when his breath hit her face and she turned her head away from him. "You wish."

Zuko immediately stepped forward. The commander was too close to her for his liking and he couldn't let his only link to the Avatar get into Zhao's hands as well. "No, let her go. She's mine."