鬼
"The view is amazing, don't you think so?"
"Yeah, Ember Island is better in spring."
Zuko and Mio were both sitting on the edge of a hill, watching the sea. The sun was already setting, and Mio's long brown hair seemed to be a mix of dark blue. They were both holding hands as Mio rested his head on Zuko's shoulder. They seemed to be older. As if a few years have passed.
White petals of flowers flew past them as the wind swayed them along. Zuko's free hand gently took hold of a petal that was stuck in Mio's hair. Mio shook his head and picked up a petal, placing it on Zuko's hair, "It looks prettier on you."
Zuko shook his head and the petal fell. Mio giggled as all the petals on the ground rose once the wind currents grew stronger. Zuko wrapped an arm around Mio's waist and pulled him closer, pecking a few kisses all around his cheeks and forehead, finishing it off with a warm kiss to the lips.
When they separated, Mio rested his head on the Prince's shoulder again, "I love you," He whispered.
Zuko smiled warmly "I love you too, Mio."
❥・❥
Zuko jerked forward, his whole head was sweating horribly. He hated those kinds of dreams. They affected him the most. Seeing what they could have been if he never left. He flinched when Shoko sat up as well, the only thing is, his hands were clenched tightly as he tried to regain his breath.
"Having a hard night?" Zuko asked. Shoko remained silent and looked down at his trembling hands. "Are you okay?"
He nodded. Shoko pressed his hand on his eyepatch and inhaled deeply. He then turned to face Zuko. "Can... can I sleep with you? I mean... just this night" He hesitated.
Zuko took notice of his shaking voice and nodded. Shoko immediately moved closer and rested his head on the Prince's chest.
❥・❥
"Mom? Mom!?"
Little Shoko desperately looked around his palace in search of his mother. He ran in every direction until a faint light caught his eye. He quietly walked closer and closer, taking a peek at the ajar door in front of him.
"He might be gifted, but that doesn't mean you can do such a cruel thing to him!" His mother screamed. "He can take it. He was only born to serve the Fire Nation and as an heir. You and I both know that he is useless otherwise! He'll burn the whole palace down if he wasn't under supervision!"
"And what if he can't control his flames?! That doesn't allow you to send him off to a boarding school! He has all his friends here!"
"Just watch me. I've met Mikoto. Your other son whom you've left in the dark so I wouldn't find out about him. You don't want to know what lengths I'd go..."
"Young master!" Shoko quickly turned around to be met with one of the servants, she ushered him back to his room. But it was too late. He had witnessed his Mother and Father shouting at each other. The two people who supposedly cared about him. To a young child, that mentally ruins everything, from small problems to little. It changes the way they think.
"You mustn't listen to others conversations-"
"Why does my dad hate me?"
The servant gasped, watching as Shoko's saddened expression went blank, almost unreadable. "Oh my goodness" She sighed. "No, no. He doesn't hate you, young master. Forgive me for saying so, but it doesn't matter what your father thinks of you. You shouldn't listen to him."
"Freya, who's Mikoto?"
The woman's eyebrows furrowed as she shuddered. "That might be a story for another time-"
"Why can't you tell me who Mikoto is?"
She looked to her lap before exhaling loudly, "Mikoto is one of your half-siblings. You see, your mother and this man were deeply in love, long before she met your father. They knew each other since childhood. But your mother's arranged marriage drove him away, taking his son, Mikoto, along with him."
But Freya's kind smile suddenly formed into Zhao's angered sneer.
"You really think you can kill me?!" He threw a painful punch to his cheek. "You should know your place. You've already killed five Fire Nation Commanders, the Fire Lord has given you one last chance before you're out."
Shoko angrily stood back up, clenching both of his hands.
"Remember, you're nothing but sold merchandise. You are a dog, and this is your leash!" Zhao pulled out a piece of parchment.
"Your father sold you because you're nothing but a lowlife and an embarrassment!"
Shoko gritted his teeth.
Again, the scene changed. Now he was in the middle of nowhere. His worst nightmare. Being engulfed in nothing but overwhelming darkness.
He walked around until he heard Zuko's rough voice. But the Prince was nowhere in sight, only his voice echoed through the empty and eerie place.
"I knew I shouldn't have trusted you. I know about your little secret. I know who you are, what you are."
For a brief moment, his heart stopped.
"You're nothing but a traitor! You should be glad my father put up with your treachery!"
He wanted to shout back, but his mouth would only stumble over words.
"And everything we've been through is nothing but a lie!"
"NO!" He screamed. "I didn't want this curse!"
"Yet you have it."
"I never asked for this! I was only a kid!"
"We were all kids once, Shoko. But you chose to run away, from your home, and from your responsibilities. None of us asked whether they wanted that destiny or not."
"You form your own destiny, it's not perfectly laid out for you, Zuko."
"Then you've formed yours into the life of a traitor" Zuko replied in a cold tone.
❥・❥
Shoko woke up once more. He was out of breath. He tried to straighten himself but Zuko's grip only tightened as if he didn't want him to pull away. Shoko thought he was awake, but when he looked over at him, he saw that the Prince was still peacefully asleep. It was some kind of weird reflex then.
The Prince's hair was unbound. Shoko's warm fingers gently caressed his hair for a while until he pulled away with a frown, putting his head on his chest. He closed his eyes but a few seconds later, he started to cry silently. His tears were wetting Zuko's shirt. And for once, he was glad the other boy was in a deep sleep.
He didn't need to know that Zuko was awake the whole time.
❥・❥
"You're fishing for an octopus, my nephew. You need a tightly woven net or he will squeeze through the tiniest hole and escape."
"I don't need your wisdom right now, Uncle," Zuko replied.
"I'm sorry. I just nag you, because... well ever since I lost my son..."
"Iroh, you don't have to continue," Shoko said silently, Zuko nodded behind him.
"I think of you as my own," Iroh continued after a while, looking at Zuko with a kind smile.
Zuko faced his Uncle, a softer expression formed on his face. "I know, Uncle. We'll meet again" He said as Iroh hugged him, "After I have the Avatar."
He turned away and walked closer to the boat they'd prepared. Iroh hugged Shoko as well, "Take care of him. He needs you" The old man whispered in his ear.
Shoko nodded, "Don't worry, I will."
"You know, I feel like I know you-"
Shoko frowned, "What do you mean?"
Iroh smiled at him, "We'll talk about it later."
Shoko nodded and hopped onto the boat with a confused expression.
"Remember your breath of fire. It could save your life out there" Iroh reminded them.
"We will" Zuko called out as he began lowering the boat into the water.
"And put your hood up. Keep your ears warm!"
"We'll be fine!"
The two picked up the paddles and started to row. Careful to dodge the icebergs, watching as a group of turtle seals rest by a hole in the ice. Zuko faced Shoko, then up to the wall and they began approaching a hole.
Shoko peered down into it. "Where are they going?" He asked, watching the turtle seals dive in one after the other.
"They're coming up for air somewhere," Zuko spoke quietly. He pulled down the mask to cover his mouth and nose, inhaling deeply. Shoko did as well before they both plunged into the water.
They swam after the turtle seals but a few moments later, they emerged from the water through another hole in the ice. Zuko lied on his back against the ice while Shoko crouched, both of them trying to catch their breath. Zuko then rolled over to his side and began shivering, breathing into his palms to warm himself up.
He sat up to look at Shoko with narrowed eyebrows, "Why don't you take the eyepatch off?"
Shoko's cold hands touched the drenched piece of fabric. "I can't," He whispered as he stood up and walked to another opening where water poured out. Zuko followed after, pushing aside the heads of two seals who began barking loudly. "Be quiet!" Shoko shouted frustratedly.
Thankfully, they quieted down. Zuko took a deep breath and entered the water. Shoko inhaled and followed after. They made their way to the channel of water and swam upwards. They attempted to resurface but the top of the water had frozen into a thick ice patch. Zuko tried to break through with brute force but Shoko placed his palms on the ice, slowly heating up his hands. He winked at Zuko when he turned to face him. Zuko quickly did the same and they soon melted it off. They emerged from the freezing water to catch their breath.
"Well, that wasn't as bad as I expected" Shoko pushed the few loose strands of hair back to his ears. Zuko nodded and dried himself off, quickly showing Shoko how he did it without burning his clothes off. They then started to walk to the yard.
Shoko's ears twitched when a familiar voice spoke up ahead.
"No, he's my friend. And I'm perfectly capable of protecting him."
"Well, aren't you a big girl now?" Zuko jumped into the conversation with a sarcastic smirk.
"No..."
"Yes. Hand him over and we won't have to hurt you" Zuko threatened, determined. Katara's eyes widened at those words. "We? Shoko?!" But her shocked state lasted only a few seconds before she took a defensive stance.
Zuko kicked out a flame of fire at the Water Tribe girl several times from his fists. Katara swiftly blocked all of them before throwing Zuko back with a harsh shot of water. She then sent a glob of ice which soon formed into pointy icicles, which would've hit Zuko. But Shoko quickly stepped forward and unleashed a shield of flames, melting the ice so it fell onto the ground as a puddle.
Katara's jaw dropped as her face expressed a look of betrayal, "Shoko..." She whispered under her breath. Zuko regained his ground and smiled at Shoko. But before any of them could attack, small juts of ice formed around their feet. Water began to rise around and encircle them.
Katara waved her arms wildly, forming a ball of water around them which she froze solid after. "You little peasant! You've found a master, haven't you?" Zuko shouted as he clenched his teeth. He and Shoko instantly heated themselves with their firebending and the globule of ice began glowing a bright orange. A few seconds later, every last piece was melted off. They both fire at Katara continuously, Shoko more hesitantly than Zuko.
Katara then prepared to strike them with a water blast but then slipped away. Zuko headed toward Aang, while Shoko circled Katara.
When Katara noticed Zuko about to grab a hold of Aang, she completely discarded Shoko who stood behind her, she bent a water blast, throwing Zuko to the other wall. Shoko kicked the back of her knees, forcing her to fall face first with a pain yelp. He pulled out his dagger and placed it next to her neck, "I'm sorry. But I can't let you hurt him anymore."
But suddenly, Momo flew onto Shoko, shutting his eyes. He kneeled down as he desperately tried to shake the flying lemur off, but he flew away once Shoko fell to the ground.
He noticed Zuko was frozen inside a cliff of ice when he stood back up. At that moment, rays of sunlight beamed down on Zuko. He felt the heat and sharply raised his head. With a determined look on his face, he breathed steam out of his nose, melting the ice quickly. Right as Katara was about to bend another glob of water, Shoko shot a fireball that the girl barely escaped in time.
"Don't even think about it" Shoko glared with a threatening voice. Zuko landed on the ground and fired a blast at Katara. She tried to deflect it by conjuring a water shield. But the blast sent her slamming into the gate, knocking her out. Shoko walked over to Zuko as he held Aang by his collar "You rise with the moon, and I rise with the sun" He smirked.
Shoko looked over to Katara, frowning slightly when a memory of Katara dressing his wounds arose from the back of his head. "I'm sorry-"
"Don't say sorry to the enemy."
A few minutes later above the oasis, they were walking through a blizzard with Aang in tow.
❥
"No matter the past, present, or future, they will always call you a monster. And you can do nothing to fit in with people that despise you. All they see is a mad dog who can't control itself and destroys everything in its way."