So...I've liked Zutara for quite some time, and finally caved and wrote a fanfic. This is what waiting two months for Secret of the Firenation did to me.... at least 20 pages worth of zutara fanart (don't have a scanner yet, can't post it) and now this, my first fanfiction. Just can't stop thinking about the new episodes...the gaang and Zuko and Iroh all in Ba Sing Se?? Will they run into each other? What will happen with Jet and Zuko??
N E way...
This is my take on what could happen between Jet and Zuko in Ba Sing Se. Jet, after following Zuko, finally challenges him to a fight in an effort to get him to reveal his firebending. What happens when Katara shows up? Read to find out. [was meant to be a one-shot...but I got carried away.] Note: this is only the first chapter. It is a Zutara thing.
WARNING!: based off of some spoilers for Secret of the Firenation.
HONOR AND HATE
"Lee, join me and my freedom fighters. Outcasts like us, we have to stick together." Jet offered a smile to Zuko in welcome. But the scarred boy turned his head away in shame.
At that moment memories rushed to the forefront of Zuko's mind. He was offering a pearl dagger to an earth kingdom boy, a dagger with an inscription that read "never give up without a fight".
Here you should have it...
"No I hate you."
The words rung in his memory, not with a calm resonance, but with piercing frequency.
Iroh, from behind his nephew, awaited Zuko's decision. Iroh's eyes were steady and patient, he knew what this choice would mean for them both.
Zuko brought his eyes up to meet Jet's. He tried to mask the pain he felt, but his eyes gave him away.
"I can't. I have to be moving on..." Zuko said to his new friend.
He hadn't experienced friendship in so long, but he couldn't stay with these freedom fighters. If they ever discovered him and his uncle, he knew no amount of friendship they had before would mask the hate that would boil up within them.
Jet had lost his parents to the fire nation, just as Lee had lost his brother. The kind of pain that comes with losing a loved one didn't subside easily. It stayed with the person who contained it, each day growing duller, yet dealing damage to the heart and mind without mercy, like a diluted acid, eating away at one's inside.
"Don't worry about it." Jet replied with a smirk, "It's just too bad. I don't think I'll ever find someone as skilled with broadswords as you, Lee."
Zuko cringed slightly at the false name. It brought back more memories of the earth kingdom boy, the one who had looked at him with pure hatred when he discovered Zuko's true identity.
Zuko's mind returned to the present moment and he smirked at Jet, remembering how they had both easily "liberated" some food from fire nation troops in order to feed the refugees they were traveling with.
"It was wonderful to have met all of you." Iroh chimed, betraying his feelings of sadness with a happy demeanor. He knew why Zuko couldn't accept this offer. He and Zuko needed time to look at their situation and decide what to do as fugitives, in order to stay safe and hidden from discovery.
As he looked over to his nephew, he saw the pain and shame in Zuko's golden eyes, pain and shame for who he was and what his nation had done to the world.
Iroh sighed contentedly. Zuko was finally letting go of his father's false love and accepting the bitter truth of the pain caused by this war, the nonexistent honor in conquering the world just for unlimited power.
"My nephew, we must be going, they are to dock the boat in ten minutes," Iroh then added with sincere happiness, "and they are serving tea before we dock! Come Lee, before they run out."
Zuko turned toward his uncle and nodded, his expression returning to one that revealed nothing about his thoughts. Zuko and Iroh nodded in aknowlegment to Jet and turned to walk to the other side of the boat.
"We'll meet again though." Jet said to the retreating backs of Zuko and Iroh. The old, retired general turned around briefly and said, "Surely, somewhere in Ba Sing Se."
Jet nodded, still smirking as he watched the two go. He had admired his new friend Lee and his skill with broadswords. Although the scarred boy was quiet at first, Jet, being charismatic by nature, was able to get Lee to talk to him, eventually the two had developed a friendship while on the ferry to Ba Sing Se. And his uncle was entertaining, especially when he was around food or tea. The man clearly had a passion for both, especially when it came to ginseng tea or roast duck.
Although Jet had liked his new friend, there was something about him, that seemed out of place. When he declined to join the freedom fighters, it rose Jet's suspicion. He made sure to watch the pair out of the corner of his eye as they sat down at a table to order some tea before docking.
The waiter placed a tea cup in front of Iroh, (Zuko declined when the waiter offered him one), and proceeded to fill it with tea. Iroh picked up his cup and frowned, displeased.
"O dear, my tea is cold..."
Iroh looked back and forth to make sure no one was paying attention, and proceeded to slowly, surreptitiously, heat up his fingertips to warm the tea. Zuko stared out into a mass of people, unaware of his uncle's actions, content to withdraw into his mind and try to sort out his thoughts, which were, at the moment, in terrible disarray.
Jet, suspicion piqued, had been sure to keep Lee and his uncle within his peripheral vision. Being an observant person and familiar with firebending capabilities, picked up on Iroh's strange behavior. When he saw the china within Iroh's hand begin to pale a bit with heat, he knew his thoughts hadn't deceived him. This old man and boy were firebenders, Jet was sure of it. His eyes narrowed and he looked away. Any friendly feelings he felt for them were quickly dashed. His hatred for the firenation was so great, he was not able to see friend from foe. His hate blinded him.
Jet quickly reasoned that any friendliness the two might have displayed was clearly a ploy for them to get through unnoticed to Ba Sing Se.
Jet turned to his freedom fighters, Smellerbee and Longshot and whispered to them in hushed but forceful tones, "Our plans have changed, we'll now be tracking two members of the firenation..." |
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
amber128's journal