Due to the damage to the ship, Prince Zuko's obsessive pursuit of the Avatar had to be put on hold long enough for a few repairs to be made. The ship limped into port after a week and a half, and Kouji begged Iroh to be allowed onto solid land.

The old man agreed, and the boy was allowed to follow the General and his nephew off the ship.

"Uncle, I want the repairs made as quickly as possible," Zuko was saying. "I don't want to stay too long and risk losing his trail."

"You mean the Avatar?"

The prince spun around and hissed, "Don't mention his name on these docks. Once word gets out that he's alive, every Firebender will be out looking for him, and I don't want anyone getting in the way."

"Getting in the way of what?" asked a new voice. On turning with the princes to see its owner, Kouji let out a muffled squeak and ducked behind Zuko, out of the man's sight. "Prince Zuko," the man greeted him.

"Captain Zhao," the teenager responded, somewhat warily.

"It's 'Commander' now," Zhao corrected, then turned to Iroh. "And General Iroh," he went on with a bow to the older man. "Great hero of our nation."

Kouji frowned. There had been an odd, mocking undertone to that.

"Retired general," Iroh replied, bowing back.

"The Firelord's brother and son are welcome guests anytime," the man said, and then noticed Kouji hiding behind Zuko. He smirked slightly. "I wasn't aware you had turned your ship into an orphanage, Prince Zuko."

"He's not an orphan," Zuko replied, sidestepping to further block the younger boy from the Commander's sight.

This move was not lost on Zhao, and he arched an eyebrow. "Is that so." Then he changed the subject. "What brings you to my harbour?"

"Our ship is being repaired," Iroh explained, gesturing behind him at the very obvious damage.

"That's quite a bit of damage," said Zhao, looking from ship to prince.

"Yes," Zuko agreed, now sounding a little nervous. "You wouldn't believe what happened." He paused. "…Uncle! Tell Commander Zhao what happened."

"Yes! …I will do that." Another pause. "It was incredible!" Then, in an undertone to his nephew, "What, did we crash or something?"

"Yes! Right into an Earth Kingdom ship."

Kouji did not flinch, but it was a near thing. "Really?" asked the commander, his eyes narrowing slightly. "You must regale me with all the… thrilling… details." He leaned forward, and Kouji scooted back. "Join me for a drink?"

"Sorry, but we have to go," Zuko said, turning away from the Commander.

"Prince Zuko," Iroh said, a little sharply. "Show Commander Zhao your respect. We would be honoured to join you. Do you have any ginseng tea? It's my favourite."

The prince snarled a little, then followed the two older men. Startled by the fire Zuko had thrown, Kouji skittered backwards, then scrambled after the prince, deciding he'd rather not be left alone.

On reaching the commander's tent, Zhao eyed Kouji once more as the boy trailed the prince in. "What purpose does keeping a child aboard your ship serve, Prince Zuko? I must admit that I'm quite curious."

"His parents left him in my uncle's care. And he's useful for running errands," Zuko replied, icily.

Zhao's eyes bored into Kouji's. "Running errands." The boy took a step back, feeling his back press against the wall of the tent.

Again, the prince stepped between the Commander and the younger boy. "Yes."

"Of course," said the older man again, redirecting his gaze to Zuko. "You can certainly justify bringing a child into a war zone because you don't want to run your own errands." He smirked at Zuko, then walked past him to the wall and began describing his war plans to Iroh.

Zuko started after the Commander, who had clearly ignored the first half of his explanation.

"P-prince Zuko?" said Kouji quickly, almost catching him by the sleeve but drawing his hand back just before contact.

The older boy half-turned back to him. "What is it?"

He hesitated, then said, "Thank you," softly. It wouldn't do to let the commander know how scared Kouji really was of him.

Zuko was silent for a moment, then nodded, and joined his uncle and Zhao.

Kouji hesitated a moment longer, then followed. Zhao hadn't noticed the quick conversation. "…and by year's end, the Earth Kingdom capital will be under our rule," he was saying. "The Firelord will finally claim victory in this war."

"If my father thinks the rest of the world will follow him willingly, then he is a fool," Zuko snapped, clearly still irritated by the earlier altercation.

Not to mention there's still the North Pole, Kouji thought. Then, Or did he have a plan for that that I missed?

"Two years at sea have done little to temper your tongue," Zhao observed, taking a seat beside the prince while Iroh examined some glaives near the wall of the tent. A sudden smile that Kouji didn't trust at all, and Zhao changed the subject. "So. How is your search for the Avatar going?"

Iroh knocked the glaives over. "My fault, entirely."

This accident — or distraction — covered Zuko's momentary search for composure for his next lie. "We haven't found him yet."

Kouji got up and moved to the fallen weapons to straighten them up so Zhao couldn't see his face. "Did you really expect to?" the commander asked the prince. "The Avatar died a hundred years ago, along with the rest of the airbenders." He paused. "…unless you've found some evidence that the Avatar is alive…"

"No. Nothing."

"Prince Zuko," Zhao said, eyeing the prince, "The Avatar is the only one left who can stop the Fire Nation from winning this war. If you have an ounce of loyalty left, you'll tell me what you found."

Kouji bristled at the indication that his prince was anything less than loyal to the Fire Nation. The young exile's defence of the boy from Commander Zhao had completely changed Kouji's opinion of him.

"I haven't found anything," Zuko snapped. "It's like you said. The Avatar probably died a long time ago." He then rose. "Come on, Uncle. We're going."

As Kouji moved to follow Iroh and Zuko, the two guards at the tent flap crossed their tridents in front of Zuko, preventing the prince's exit. "Commander Zhao," reported another man. "We interrogated the crew as you instructed. They confirmed that Prince Zuko had the Avatar in custody, but let him escape."

That wasn't how it had happened, and Kouji opened his mouth to say so.

Zuko shifted a little and stepped on his foot.

The boy flinched, but made no sound; fortunately, Zhao had not turned. "Now, remind me… how, exactly, was your ship damaged?" He approached Zuko so he could murmur that last into his ear.

Zuko clenched his fists and said nothing as he was escorted back to his seat; Kouji fled to Iroh as the prince's temper was starting to flare again. Finally, bit by bit, and very reluctantly, the young man told the story of the whole fiasco.

"So," said the commander when he'd finished. "A twelve-year-old boy bested you and your firebenders. You're more pathetic than I thought."

"I underestimated him once," Zuko snapped. "It will not happen again."

"No, it will not," agreed Zhao. "Because you won't have a second chance."

"Commander Zhao, I've been hunting the Avatar for two years and I—" He sounded almost desperate.

"And you failed!" Zhao snapped, turning and punctuating his statement with a blast of fire that made Kouji yelp and bolt behind Zuko's chair, further away from the commander. This did him no good, as Zhao then approached the prince as he added, "Capturing the Avatar is too important to leave in a teenager's hands. He's mine now."

With a cry of rage, Zuko shot out of his chair and launched himself at Zhao, only to be restrained by two of the Commander's men.

"Keep him here," ordered Zhao, turning and walking away.

Zuko took out his rage on the defenceless table next to him.

"More tea, please?" Iroh said.

Zuko was released once the commander had left the tent, but it was obvious that none of them would be allowed to leave.

The prince growled an impressive and highly impolite string of words that he could only have learned from the sailors he'd spent the last two years with, and paced furiously for several minutes, until his uncle finally managed to coax him back into his chair.

After an hour or so, Commander Zhao returned. "My search party is ready," he said. "Once I'm out to sea, my guards will escort you back to your ship, and you'll be free to go."

"Why?" Zuko asked, somewhat sarcastically. "Are you worried I'm going to try and stop you?"

Zhao laughed; the idea apparently amused him. "You? Stop me? Impossible."

In response, the prince launched himself out of his chair. "Don't underestimate me, Zhao. I will capture the Avatar before you!"

"Prince Zuko," Iroh admonished, rising from his own chair. "That's enough!"

"You can't compete with me," said Zhao, obviously baiting Zuko. Kouji frowned; did he want the prince to lose control? "I have hundreds of warships under my command! And you. You're just a banished prince. No home, no allies… your own father doesn't even want you."

"You're wrong! Once I deliver the Avatar to my father, he will welcome me home with honour, and restore my rightful place on the throne." It seemed he was rising to the Commander's bait.

"If your father really wanted you home," said Zhao, "he would have let you return by now, Avatar or no Avatar. But in his eyes, you are a failure, and a disgrace to the Fire Nation."

His words cut Zuko deeper than the prince would ever allow him to see. "That's not true."

"You have the scar to prove it," said Zhao cruelly.

"Maybe you'd like one to match!"

"Is that a challenge?"

"An Agni Kai. At sunset."

"Very well," said Zhao, stepping back from his challenging posture. "It's a shame your father won't be here to watch me humiliate you." As he turned to leave, he added, "I guess your uncle will do."

"Prince Zuko," Iroh said, sounding somewhat concerned. "Have you forgotten what happened the last time you duelled a master?"

"I will never forget," the prince replied, quiet and fierce.

Kouji looked from prince to general, his worry open on his face. What was it about Zuko that Zhao felt threatened by? He had been antagonising and needling the prince like a child.

Neither Zuko nor Iroh had an answer for him. As far as they were concerned, the subject was closed.

"I think you should go back to the ship, Kouji," Iroh said, quietly. "I'm sure that can be arranged."

"Yes, sir," said Kouji, his mouth dry. He had no desire to witness an Agni Kai.

Iroh smiled at him. "Don't worry. Everything will be fine."

The boy nodded at the retired general, but his gaze returned to Zuko. The prince was clenching and unclenching his fists, staring off in the direction Zhao had left in.

Kick his butt, Kouji thought fiercely as Iroh made arrangements for the boy to return to the ship.

Sure enough, when Zuko and Iroh joined him there later that evening, it was with the report that the prince had won the duel. Kouji couldn't help but let out a small cry of glee at that. He promptly clapped his hands over his mouth and blushed.

Iroh smiled at that, though the prince merely shrugged and went and locked himself in his quarters for a while. Kouji sobered quickly. "…why does Commander Zhao needle him like that?" he asked the old man. "It's like he wants Prince Zuko to lose control and attack him."

"It's… very complicated," Iroh said slowly.

Kouji sulked a little. "That's grown-up speak for 'I'm not going to tell you,'" he grumbled.

The General smiled slightly. "No, I am not going to tell you. Because, for the most part, it's not really my story to tell. And it's largely irrelevant."

The boy sighed, and stared over the ship's rail at the water. "…are you going to take me home?" he asked. "Now that the Avatar is back, I mean."

Iroh shook his head. "I don't think we'll be able to make that side trip, not with my nephew's mind the way it is right now. Technically, he is in charge of this mission."

Kouji tried not to let his relief show. "All right."

"We'll probably be on our way soon."

Despite himself, the boy flinched. Then his eyes narrowed as he got an idea. Without a word to the general, he scampered down the gangplank, scooped some dirt into a bag, and then bolted back onto the ship, tying the bag to his belt.

Iroh arched an eyebrow. "What's that for?"

The boy flushed. "I was thinking maybe if I keep some ground with me, I won't get sick? Mama insists my seasickness is all in my mind anyway."

"It's worth a try, certainly," the old man said, accepting this explanation.

Kouji didn't let the general see his relieved expression, nor did he caress the little bag at his hip. That might give too much away.

 Next Chapter

Current Location: my dad's chair
Current Mood: bouncy
Current Music: Okaasan te Nan Darou - Shin Kaguya Shima Densetsu
Tags: au, avatar, fanfic, small flame

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