Avatar: Zuko X OC (Hana)

Chapter 5 - Zhao Appears

"Wait..." Hana stands back up and stares at Zhao. "This is my fight now..."

"You're too badly injured." Zuko protests.

Iroh puts one hand on Zuko's shoulder. "It isn't about injury now nephew." Iroh mumbles. "Zhao has damaged her pride."

Zuko allows himself to step back but still worries. "Fine then... have it your way..."

"So you think you can take me on?" Zhao grins. "What magical trick have you got up your sleeve little girl? Your firebending could never beat mine." <-- She's wearing Zuko's robe so he mistook her for a firebender and showed no mercy by burning her when she got in his way.

Hana smirks slightly and raises her good arm while she positions her legs in a fighting stance. "Then it's a good thing I'm not a firebender right." She moves her arm and shifts her left leg slightly causing a wave of water to push Zhao over the side of Zuko's ship and back onto his own ship.

"A waterbender!?" Zhao growls from his ship. He's about to leap back over when his legs freeze to his ship. "You win this round Waterbender, but know this! Soon all waterbending will come to an end! And then I will come for you! And teach you to fear me!" he fire bends the ice away and commands his men to continue sailing.

Zuko smirks. "So that was your plan all along. To force him back onto his own ship so he would leave." Zuko frowns looking at the burn on her arm. "You should get that looked at."

Hana nods slightly and looks at Zuko. "I sure showed him." she smirks.

Iroh smiles. "Yeah you did." He leads her to a medic on the ship. "You did well."

Zuko smiles a little bit. "I suppose I owe you a thanks for stopping him." Zuko looks forward. "I might have gotten seriously hurt if he had managed to hit me with that attack while my back was turned."

The medic looks over the burn. "This is quite the burn. I've not seen anything quite this serious in such a long time."

"Do you have some water?" Hana asks.

"Yes." The medic brings a bowl of water. "But what on earth for?"

Hana sticks her hand in the water wincing at the pain it causes on the burn. "Water has healing properties." She mumbles as she tries her best to ignore the pain.

Zuko watches curiously. "I didn't know waterbenders could do that?" He muses as the burn begins to heal.

Hana whimpers slightly as a tear falls to the floor. "The only problem is... it won't completely heal." She mumbles.

"What do you mean?" Zuko asks staring at her now. 'Why is she crying? Shouldn't she be happy that the burn is healing?'

The medic frowns. "No matter how much healing the outside does... her arm will always be scarred."

"What do you mean?" Zuko turns to the medic.

"The burn she suffered damaged the nerves in her arm and hand." The medic explains. "She won't be using the arm to bend anymore."

"Can't... bend..." Zuko takes a moment to process this and then he frowns. "Then fix it!"

"I'm afraid medicine doesn't work like that." The medic explains.

"It's ok..." Hana chocks.

"Hana..." Zuko frowns.

"I knew after I had seen the damage that my arm won't ever fully heal." Hana mumbles removing her wrist from the water. The burn now nothing more than an unsightly scar on her wrist. "When he burned me I couldn't feel the energy in my arm anymore." She looks at Zuko sadly. "So I figured that I had lost my ability to bend with this arm."

Zuko bites his low lip and looks away. 'She's so calm about it. Why am I so upset?'

Iroh sighs. "That's unfortunate."

Hana sees that Zuko is very deeply troubled by her injury. "Don't feel bad." She smiles a little bit.

Zuko glances over at Hana and sighs. "I'm not. I don't care at all." He mumbles. <-- Lying through his teeth.

"At least in the end I was able to protect you." Hana mumbles looking at her wrist. "Even if I can't sculpt ice anymore." She frowns and looks away. 'Because without one arm to hold the water and one to freeze it I won't be able to form it anymore.'

At the mention of that Zuko can't contain himself anymore and he stands up and leaves the room without a word.

"You are still very powerful without the use of your one arm." Iroh states motioning to her injury. "But I think if you stick to your training you might be able to regain your ability. Though I'm sure that road will be very difficult."

Hana sighs. "The only way I can think of would be to have a tribe elder assist me... but because my family was driven out of the tribes I'm not able to go to the poles to ask for help."

Iroh puts his hand on his chin and glances at the door. "I bet we can figure something out. Excuse me while I go and check on my nephew." He excuses himself and peruses Zuko.

-on the deck-

Zuko is pacing back and forth in a rage. 'She acts like she isn't upset but I know she's hurting. She just lost her most treasured ability to sculpt in ice... she was so proud of being able to do that. And then to just so casually dismiss the fact that she can no longer...'

'But at least I was able to protect you.'

'AAAAUGGGG! Why did I have to remember that?!' Zuko growls and puts his hands on the rail and looks over at the water. 'Could it be... that I actually do care about this waterbender?'

"Nephew." Iroh calls calmly as he approaches.

Zuko glances over at Iroh and frowns. "I am very conflicted uncle."

"Why so?" Iroh asks stopping near the edge of the ship.

"I feel... bad." Zuko growls and looks at the water. "We took her away from her home... and yet she risked her life to help out... she just lost the thing she treasures most to protect me... and..." he glances at Iroh again. "I feel like..." he sighs. "I feel like everything I stand for is falling apart."

"I see." Iroh smiles a bit and looks at the water. "Emotions are like the ocean. They flow in many different patterns and tides. They can be calm and gentle, and yet they can cascade and become great storms that can wipe out entire cities."

"Uncle I don't have time for your riddles." Zuko grumbles and looks at the water.

"I think perhaps the answer might be closer than it seems." Iroh smiles. "You just haven't realized it yet."