To Lose or to Gain: Iroh's Child (AtlA Fanfic)

Of the Flame

A chill ran down Akira's spine despite the heat of the flame at his neck. His mouth opened slightly, his mind still mentally taking in the sight of a move he'd never seen before, let alone never heard of. In the moment or the flurry of moments, Akira's mind didn't register the fact Piandao's hand gripped Zuko's wrist, let alone the look of horror on the young prince's face even after they stepped away, conversing with each other.

The first thing Akira's mind registered outside of the events which transpired when he sparred the young prince was hearing Hideki say, "Wow", followed closely by, "That was amazing."

"There's no denying the fact what Zuko did was amazing, but..." Akira continued staring at Zuko. "I know Prince Iroh held back on Zuko's training. I know he has, so..."

"Is something the matter?"

Akira's eyes blinked, mentally registering the voice of Zuko's other chosen companion. He turned his head, noting the look of worry on Hideki's face, making him realize all to quickly the shock of what just transpired likely appeared clearly on his face. "No. Nothing's wrong." Yet, in the back of his mind, he kept thinking over that one particular thought. "I know where Zuko was, but that his training was being held back, so how..."

His eyes opened and closed, carefully taking in how Piandao interacted with Zuko, watching the man lift his chin, almost as if to command Zuko's attention for some reason, but not long after the young prince approached them, worrying his bottom lip making it all too obvious he too found himself bothered by the situation. Zuko's eyes darted away, one hand reaching up to clutch the sleeve of his arm. "Akira?"

"I – yes?"

"Sorry." The words made Akira's eyes blink, but then Zuko followed up with. "I'm...

"Stop." Akira felt his chest tightened slightly, feeling completely agitated with the current situation despite the fact he couldn't place a finger on what actually bothered him. "I do know he shouldn't be apologizing. After all..."

"Wait. I don't want things to be..." Zuko glanced down at the ground, his fingers tightening even more on the sleeve of his clothing specifically picked out for training at Piandao over any preconceived royal etiquette.

"...quite a few Fire Bending masters would laud praise on Zuko if he were the student." A brief thought crossed his mind. "Jealousy. No, that..."

"I want to be friends, but I don't want them the same way Azula...." Akira's eyes blinked, his mind instantly going back to the conversations he held with Zuko regarding the young princess; Azula made and kept friends through fear and intimidation, so without out outright saying what he meant, Akira knew Zuko was trying to say, "I'm sorry I scared you."

Except... "You didn't scare me."

"Then why?"

"It was unexpected." That answer definitely felt like the right answer, given the fact he'd not expected the move from Zuko, who prior to coming here struggled with the basic movements of Firebending, yet now...

"That can't be right."

Akira's eyes blinked, his focus o the top of Zuko's head. "Why wouldn't it be?"

"I mean, I'm not good..."

"It looked good to me." Hideki piped up. "Akira is older than us, right?"

"Yeah, but..."

"Stop comparing yourself with Azula." Akira knew his voice sounded stern, yet in the back of his mind arguing Azula as the better Firebender in the manner Zuko did, even came to perceive didn't feel right. "Of course, I've never..."