With the use of some clever disguises and the help of the White Lotus, the 2 of us manage to sneak away from Xin Fu and Master Yu. Before long, we were on our way to Ba Sing Se. There were many reasons to be apprehensive about stepping foot into the large city. Zuko believes that we won't be able to fit in, but I was optimistic that everything would be just fine.
Currently, we're on the ferry that takes us across a lake to the city from Full Moon Bay. Zuko and I lean against the railing in silence, meanwhile, Iroh voices the reason he should be nervous without much shame. "Who would have thought, after all these years, I'd return to the scene of my greatest military disgrace..." Iroh says solemnly. "as a tourist!" he finishes as he turns to Zuko and I, putting on a flowered straw hat and wide grin.
I can't help but giggle at the grinning old man and the floral hat he'd put on his head. Zuko of course, is less amused. "Look around!" he motions to our surroundings. "we're not tourists, we're refugees." he finishes angrily before he takes a sip from the wooden bowl in his hand. "Ugh!" he groans as he spits over the railing. "I'm sick of eating rotten food, sleeping in the dirt... I'm tired of living like this." he groans as he leans on the rail despondently. I sigh softly as I run a soothing hand down his back. His muscles are tense under my touch but isn't burning up which is a good sign. "Relax," I tell him which makes him look at me for a second before turning away from me again, staring at the water below again. "this is only temporary." I continue.
He's about to reply but another voice interrupts him from doing so. "That's what everybody says." I feel my body tense at the sound of the voice. I mentally curse at the sound of Jet's voice. Zuko pulls away from me, he and Iroh turning to where Jet stands behind us, while I stand perfectly still, not wanting Jet to recognize me. With Jet being here, I'm now scared because this was the only person I ever met who hated the Fire Nation as much as I once did, if not more and I know exactly what I would do if I'd come across such people in this circumstance. He couldn't find out that Zuko and Iroh are Fire Nation. "My name's Jet, and these are my freedom fighters, Smellerbee, and Longshot." Jet introduces. "Hey." I hear Smellerbee greet and I assume that Longshot nods a greeting. "Hello." Zuko greets back as he looks out over the lake again. "Here's the deal," Jet says without any further preamble. "I hear the Captain's eating like a king, while us refugees have to feed off his scraps." he explains. "Doesn't seem fair, does it?" he asks.
He hasn't changed. He's fishing for something just as he did with Aang and Katara, posing his word like facts then ending it with a simple rhetorical question, making it appear like he wants the other person's idea and not his. It's simple manipulation. Hearing it only solidifies that he hasn't learned his lesson from last time. "What sort of 'king' is he eating like?" Iroh asks him. "The fat, happy kind." Jet answers. Jet's reply makes Iroh's mouth fall open as he drools. "You want to help us 'liberate' some food?" Jet asks, while looking at Zuko, his eyes glancing toward me for a few seconds before he returns his gaze to Zuko again.
Zuko is silent for a moment and I watch him from the corner of my eye, wondering as to what he's going to say. I really hope he tells Jet to get lost and leave us alone. He looks down at the bowl of rotten food in his hand before tossing it into the water below and turning to Jet. "I'm in," he declares. "No, you're not." I say as I finally turn around, having enough. I listened to what Jet had to say and it isn't anything worth our time. I quickly rush over to Jet, pinning him against one of the beams of the ship, holding him by the collar of his shirt, glaring at the boy in front of me intensely. "What are you doing?!" Zuko asks me, surprised by my actions. "Trust me," I say turning my head to look at him from the corner of my eye. "You don't want to associate yourself with Jet." I growl before turning back to face Jet.
Jet's eyes are almost the size of his head, his teeth clamped together in a deep scowl. I can tell that he's trying to piece together who I am. It doesn't take long until he realises who I am, astonishment floods the confusion on his features. "Kida?" he asks. The only confirmation I give to his guess is glaring at him, not breaking eye contact with him. A smirk stretches his lips but the fear isn't completely gone from his eyes. He tries to lean closer to me, but I push him back against the beam I had pushed him against moments ago. "What are you doing here? Where are Aang and your siblings?" he asks as he straightens again. "I don't know," I answer him honestly. "but even if I did know where they were, I wouldn't tell the likes of you." I growl. "Oh really?" he asks, a smug smirk on his lips again. "Did they finally get tired of your high and mighty attitude?" he continues. "Watch your tongue, Jet." I snarl. I'm about to continue my threat but a hand being put on my shoulder stops me. "Kida, you're going to cause a scene." Iroh says softly.
It takes me a moment before the realization dawns on me that we're still on a ship with other people. We're supposed to be blending in. I hesitate for a moment before letting Jet go backing away from him to where I'm standing in between Zuko and Iroh again. I cross my arms to hold back the urge to punch him in the face. "What are you doing here, Jet? Gonna flood Ba Sing Se too?" I ask him. "You do realize there isn't any Fire Nation here, you won't be able to use that as an excuse." He glowers at me and I know that I've struck a nerve. "I admit, I did some pretty messed up things but I've changed." I scoff at him loudly, not believing a single word he had just said.
My snub only seems to inflame his irritation even more. He takes a stomping step forward, his face contorting into a sneer. It's not like they don't deserve it, they killed off a whole race, remember?" he asks. "Jet," Smellerbee warns but neither Jet nor I listen to her warning. "You don't think I know that?!" I exclaim, taking a step toward him. "I may not have been alive back then, but do you really think that I would have done everything that I could to help the Airbenders." I snap at him.
His face relaxes just enough for him to let out a bitter chuckle. "No, I have no doubt about what you would have done but you weren't alive then." "Do you know who was?" he asks. "Your precious Avatar." "What is that supposed to mean?!" I snarl as fury floods through my body. I ball my hands into fists at my sides, causing the boat slosh around as we suddenly came into contact with jagged water. "Jet, do you really think that it's smart to be antagonizing a water bender while we're on a boat?" Smelerbee urges as she and the others stumble around, trying to stay on their feet.
I could barely hear her words as I'm trying my best to restrain myself, but the water only becomes even more ferocious. "Kida," Zuko's voice breaks through my raging mind as I feel his warm hand on my arm, giving me something to ground myself with. Zuko and Iroh here. It isn't just Jet and I on this boat. Other people's lives are at risk if I let my emotions get out of hand. My frozen stance gradually begins to melt into Zuko's firm hold and I lessen my grasp on the water, letting it balance itself out. I lean back into his chest, partly to get farther away from Jet and also to get closer to the warmth of his body.
Jet speaks up again before I calm down completely, earning a glare from both Zuko and I. "I'm sorry Kida, that was to far," Jet apologizes, but I can tell it's not sincere - not completely anyway. "The Avatar being back is great. We can finally have peace again." he continues. At his 'apology' I push away from Zuko, standing strong once more, while glaring and jabbing my index finger at the supposed 'freedom' fighter. "No, Jet," I shake my head. "you don't want peace, you want everyone from the Fire Nation to be slaughtered - civilians and soldiers, benders and non-benders, all of them." I growl, crossing my arms over my chest, trying to control my anger. "Another genocide won't make things right, it'll only make everything worse than it already is." I say. "No one is born a killer. We're made into them. You can't blame all of them for what they've been taught. Sozin, the one who started this war 100 years ago, and those who went along with him, those are the only people to blame for all of this." I finish. "So what?" Jet asks. "You don't blame the current Fire Lord or his father? They killed your mother and forced your father to go fight in the war." Jet urges.
I shake my head. "There are families on both sides of this war with the same exact story as mine or worse." I state. "And as far as the Fire Lord... it's not the son's fault for his father's mistake, it's only their fault if they don't learn from it." After I finish, I drop my folded arms, turning to walk away, not wanting to deal with Jet anymore. "You've changed, Kida," Jet calls out after me, causing me to stop mid-step before finally responding to his remark. "Good," I continue to walk away, not looking back. After that whole citation, I need to meditate or something to calm my mind.
For the rest of the evening, I try to keep my distance from other people. I would like to go over to where Zuko and Iroh are sitting but with Smellerbee and Longshot there - not that I mind their company - Jet won't be too far away. I groan softly as my stomach growls. Even though Zuko had come over to give me some of the food he and Jet took, I wasn't hungry. But now, it seems, I'm really hungry. I turn my head toward where Zuko and Iroh are, hoping that I can get his attention, when I see Jet walking towards me.
At the sight of him coming closer to me, I quickly get up from the ground, walking away from him. "Wait, Kida," he calls out. "can I just talk to you for 5 minutes?" he asks. I feel a hand grab onto my arm, and I spin around to glare at him. "I have nothing to say to you." I hiss. "Please, just let me explain." he begs. "You have nothing to explain to me." I snap. "They should know that they're letting a psychopath into Ba Sing Se." I growl. His grip on my arm tightens, his eyes darting around rapidly. "Will you keep your voice down? Someone might actually believe you." he says, his voice lowered to a hiss. "They should." I growl. "I only did what I thought was right!" he snaps. "And any sane person would have seen that it wasn't." I snap back.
He starts to speak again, but stops short, his eyes darting around once more for any eavesdroppers before he tore off, dragging me along behind him. He brings us to the front of the ship which is relatively private. He finally lets go of my arm and I take several steps away from him. "Don't act like you actually gave a damn about what I did." Jet begins.
It's a wild accusation and nearly earns him a scathing response. "What really pissed you off was that I threatened your brother and used Aang and Katara." he states. "You didn't really care about the people of the Fire Nation back then." "I have never condone the harming of innocent people!" I roar angrily. "No, but you do understand when a sacrifice needs to be made, don't you?" he asks. I shake my head as I turn away from him. "You're still trying to justify what you did." "I'm not!" he exclaims as he tries to grab my arm again, but I yank it away before he can get a good good grip. He instantly put his hands up in surrender, seeing the deadly look in my eyes. After a second more of staring at each other, I turn around, walking away from, returning to where I had been sitting before Jet had come over to me.
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It's been about an hour since my 'talk' with Jet and I've calmed down considerably, just sitting here, watching the water get pushed to the side by the boat. "Mia?" I hear Zuko's voice ask as I hear footsteps approach me. I turn my head to see him only a few steps away from me. "Hey." I greet softly with a small smile. "I brought some food. Figured you might be hungry." he says as he hands me a bowl. I take it gratefully. "Thanks." I say, my smile widening at the smell of the soup in the bowl. I eat a few spoonfuls before he sits down beside me, leaning against the wall behind us. "You alright?" he asks. "I'm fine." I assure him as I continue eating my soup. "You keep saying that and I still don't believe you." he states.
At his reply, I don't meet his eyes, but I know that I have to at some point. I place my bowl of soup down beside me before looking at him, but not looking him in the eye. Me not looking him in the eyes is a telling act on its own, but I know how I feel, would be even clearer if he looks into my eyes. "Jet just gets under my skin. That's all." I reply with a shrug and a tight-lipped smile as I grab my bowl of soup again, downing the rest of it. "Right..., you and Jet..." Zuko says softly as he tears his gaze away from my face to finally look at the water. "I overheard you 2 earlier." he says, causing me to snap my head towards him. At my wide-eyed expression, he's quick to explain. "I saw him grab you. I was coming to make sure that you were okay." he reassures.
The splashing of the water is all I hear for a few moments before he speaks up again. "Did you 2 ever-" I cut him off. "No. Spirits no." I state while shaking my head at the thought of me and Jet being a couple or something. I feel the tension in his body lessen at my answer. "Why do you ask?" I ask him, looking up at him. "Are you jealous or something?" I continue with a smirk. "WHAT?! NO!" He exclaims, and even though I can barely see his face, I can tell that he's blushing. I giggle softly before nudging his shoulder with my own. "I'm only joking!" I assure through my giggles. All of the tension in his body drops but he turns to glare at me. "There's no need for you to be jealous of Jet," I say, reassuringly as I lay my head on his shoulder. "There's nothing to be jealous of anyway." I sigh softly, closing my eyes, enjoying the warmth of his body against mine.
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It's the next morning and I can see the wall of Ba Sing Se getting closer and closer with every second that passes. Zuko stands next to me, looking toward the wall as well. I hear footsteps behind me, causing me to turn my head slightly, only to see Jet walking toward the 2 of us. I scoff quietly before turning to face Zuko, leaning in close to his ear. "See you in a minute, I'm going to find Mushi." He nods in reply and I give him a soft smile before walking away from him and Jet, not even sparing a glance towards the latter.
Not wanting to get to far from the 2 of them, I walk over to the railing again, looking down at the water, listening in on their conversation. "You know, as soon as I saw your scar, I knew exactly who you were." Jet states. I see Zuko glance at Jet warily as he now stands next to him. I tense at the thought of him knowing that Zuko is the Prince of The Fire Nation, or just him being Fire Nation in general. I keep my guard up, just in case. "You're an outcast, like me." Jet explains which makes me relax my muscles, only slightly. "And us outcasts have to stick together. We have to watch each other's backs, because no one else will." Jet continues solemnly.
In the corner of my eye I see Zuko glance at me before looking away again. "I've realized lately," he says. "that being on your own isn't always the best path." he continues, his voice grim as the wall of Ba Sing Se gets closer and closer. "I've been wanting to ask you," Jet says to him. "How do you and Mia know each other?" he asks while turning to look at me for a moment before looking at Zuko again. I look at Zuko from the corner of my eye, to see what he'll say. "I've known her for a while." Zuko answers simply, his eyes landing on me as he speaks. "She decided to travel with my Uncle and I after she had gotten separated from her siblings." he continues as he turns away from me.
What he said was somewhat true. I didn't get separated from the others per say, but I did decide to travel with Zuko and Iroh after Iroh had gotten hurt by Azula. Jet doesn't have to know that though. "She's pretty amazing, isn't she?" Jet asks him and I see him turn to look at me from the corner of my eye. I don't think he meant for me to overhear his question, but then again it's Jet. Maybe he's just trying to win some points with compliments, which is not going to happen, no matter what he says. "Yeah," Zuko sighs softly. "She is." I smile softly at his answer, knowing that he's being genuine. Zuko may not be one to show his emotions that often, but I can always tell when he's being genuine.
I can feel their eyes on me, but I don't look over at them, not wanting to know that I'm listening in on their conversation. "I've never seen a woman quite like her, she has to be one of the best warriors that I've ever seen." Jet adds. "She's good at fighting." Zuko agrees. "but that's not all shie is. She cares about people. She'd give her last breath just to save a stranger. She doesn't blindly listen to what others say either, she makes her own judgments." he says. "When we first met, I was a lot different, and she should've hated me, but she didn't. She believed in me." he finishes. It's true. Even though we didn't get along well in the beginning, the more time I spent with Zuko, whether it was when I was his prisoner or now, I've always believed in him in some way, and I know that I always will.
Alright so, Jet's back!!! And Mia is not happy about it!!! What did you guys think about their interactions with each other? Let me know in the comments!!!
The next chapter will be up soon!!!