Avatar The Last Airbender Fan Fiction ❯ Precious Illusions ❯ A Dangerous Mind ( Chapter 12 )

Author Notes: “Do you have a mirror in your pocket? 'Cause I can see myself in your pants.”

 

Disclaimer: Is not mine, I could never make up something so beautiful and predictable as it, though I do wish I had Zuko (I would lock him in my room and never leave). It belongs to Nickelodeon (I think) and its creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. I don't any of the songs either.

 

Warnings: language (the f word is used twice in the fic), a bit of violence, emotional turmoil, insanity, yuri (light and far away), shoujo ai, mentions of shounen ai/yaoi. Original characters, made up avatar creatures (that's all the warning I can think of off the top of my head).

 

A Dangerous Mind by Within Temptation

 

Chapter Twelve

A Dangerous Mind

 

“Azi!” shouted Saki cutting off Sokka as he continued to try and break Azula's eardrums with his incessant talking. Azula looked over to her friend while Sokka huffed. What did he expect? He never shut up, there wasn't a time that someone could try and talk to Azula without breaking into one of Sokka's long winded tales, punctuated by complaining and rants.

 

“What is it?” asked Azula, she felt a little uneasy when she saw her friends expression.

 

“Did you really do that?” asked Saki. Azula looked her friend with a raised eyebrow. She then saw Zuko sigh in exasperation.

 

“Do what? I've done a lot of things, obviously nothing worthy of praise, but I'm no mind reader,” said Azula, something nagged at her.

 

“Or a saint,” said Saki with a smile and then frowned again. “Did you really try to kill Zuko last night?”

 

Azula looked shocked by the accusation. She glanced at her brother who took the dagger she had taken from one of her attackers out. She had planned on pawning it off, but the first chance she got in a city her face had been plastered everywhere. Still, why did Zuko have it, did it have anything to do with that weird dream the other night? She glanced over to her mother. She hadn't killed her, so her mother must have given her the doll, or she just didn't remember stealing it from her.

 

“Azi,” insisted Saki, Azula concentrated back on the air bender, ignoring the looks that she was getting from the avatars friends.

 

“I don't remember, I remember the movements, but I don't remember if I had meant to kill him,” she probably shouldn't have sounded so amused, but the former fire princess couldn't help but find some amusement in the situation. She was allowed that once in awhile she was sure.

 

“You were holding a knife to my throat,” said the Fire Lord dryly. Azula just shrugged.

 

“But I don't remember what inspired that, if my thoughts were malicious or not,” said Azula with a shrug, telling the truth.

 

“She's telling the truth,” commented the earth bender digging greedily into her meal.

 

“I'm a very accomplished liar,” said Azula, smiling nostalgically.

 

“Yes, but I am the perfect lie detector,” said Toph confidently. Azula was sure that under the table the earth benders feet were squibbling across the floor.

 

“I am a pretty pink princess who believes in the tooth elk and world peace, oh and I have horns on the top of my head,” said Azula dully.

 

“Wow, she is good,” Azula smiled, that was so worth it.

 

“World peace has been obtained,” said the avatar strongly.

 

“There's still strife between countries and the odd underground uprising. Plus, you haven't solved every dispute in the world, I'm sure there are still cruel people who suppress whoever they can get their hands on,” said Azula, she was not going to sugarcoat the world for the happy-go-lucky avatar. Some people were born evil, it was just the way the world worked, you couldn't excuse everyone's actions away, not unless you wanted to end up dead.

 

“Ah, but when you said that you could have been talking about just general world peace,” said Katara, trying to sound smart. The water bender still drove Azula up a wall; it was something about her personality that set her off.

 

“Yeah, yeah,” cut in Sokka, loudly, near Azula's ear. She flicked some food off her cheek. “A town could have named you pretty pink princess, and well, you are insane, so you could think the tooth elf exists, but you know most people don't believe in it. You also probably, ah, imagined, yeah that's it, you imagined horns on top of your head and that's how you lied so easily.”

 

“How'd you escape the nut house, I'd love to compare notes,” said Azula with a fake smile. “For your information there's a much easier way to lie under that kind of lie detector, it's called control.”

 

“Control? Control of what?” asked Sokka. Azula glared without venom at him.

 

“Of everything. Your emotions, your body,” said Azula she watched as the boy dove into his food with a raised eyebrow.

 

“The people you know?” asked Zuko, he appeared to be scrutinizing her.

 

“If your with the right group of people you can't control them with anything, from bribes to threats, and for some reason they'll still want to hang out with you,” she sent a look at Gato who was trying to squeeze next to Toph, he found the earth bender fascinating, she hoped he wasn't sending the wrong signals.

 

“Experience talking?” asked Katara, her voice judging but kind at the same time. Azula took a bite, glanced at her friends, and that's all she did for an explanation, next to her Saki was only too happy to fill in.

 

“Oh, you should have heard the things she asked, told, and threatened me to do, for someone who is insane she's very keen in the art of deception. She didn't do it as much to Gato, she enjoyed in tormenting him instead,” said Saki with a smile.

 

“They seem to torment each other equally,” said Sokka through a mouth full of food.

 

“That's because when Azi let something slip about her past he was the only one who immediately got over it. Which is a shame because he wasn't there when it was announced and Azi ended up in a cave freezing her ass off before I pulled myself together,” said Saki, she looked put out.

 

“Why didn't Gato go find her?” asked Aang.

 

“Wouldn't have been the same, the only one that truly can influence what Azi does is Saki, she's very important to Azi…”

 

“I'm right here,” said Azula with a glare.

 

“Why is Saki so important to you?” asked Katara, Azula glared at the water bender.

 

“None of your business,” snapped Azula, and her friend sighed and shook her head with a small chuckle.

 

“We don't know,” said Gato, ripping violently into some vegetables. “But the same thing applies to Saki to some degree. She looked miserable the few hours before she went and got Azi.”

 

“Really?” asked Azula.

 

“Never you mind Azi,” said Saki, pointing some of her food at her friend. “And you, hush.”

 

“Hey, some people just came into a village. Ones really cute and ones really fat,” said one of the more spazy girls. There was a flurry of movement that was spearheaded mostly by the girls. Something that would never change. Azula herself just hoped this would give her the afternoon free of children, though Master Tuk would probably just make her work with him more. Sighing she pushed herself from the table, leaving her plate there because everyone else had and started heading toward the flap to the temple.

 

“Hey, Azi, if you're not heading toward the newcomers would you help us clean up?” asked Ruk, apparently assigned kitchen duty for the day.

 

“Master Tuk is expecting me,” she said, waving behind her. Ruk shook his bald head and started gathering the plates.

 

----

 

She had been practicing since the third bell when he came.

 

“Bird-nose Tuk?” asked an incredulous voice, deep and gruff.

 

“Iroh?” came the returned question. The two men walked quickly and embraced each other, and then broke apart and just looked over. Taking in their old friend. Azula rolled her eyes and returned to her sword movements. It wasn't her fault that they knew each other, shouldn't disturb her practice. Though she did wonder why her uncle was here. If anyone was observant enough to figure out who she was it would be him. He might act like an idiot, but in reality she knew he had a quicker wit than even her father had possessed.

 

“I can't believe I'd find you here!” exclaimed Iroh, stepping back to properly talk to his old friend.

 

“Well, I am from the old air nomads native land, it was my duty to see them begin again,” said Master Tuk, and then sent a light glare in Azula's direction.

 

“You would think so,” said Iroh with a light laugh and then looked to where his friend was looking. “And who would that bit of wild fire be?”

 

“That,” said Master Tuk with meaning, Azi didn't even spare him a glance. “Would be my apprentice who is supposed to show respect for a master.” He waited for her to turn. “Azi, come over here please. I'm sorry Iroh, she's not known for showing respect.”

 

“No troubles, I like a girl with spunk,” said her uncle happily. Azi used the last few movements to cut her hair tie, letting her hair fall into across her face. As a Princess she had always had her hair in a perfect bun, she hoped that the difference would throw him enough until her identity was well rooted. “And I rather like the informality; it reminds me of my customers.”

 

“Ah, here she is,” said Tuk as Azula walked toward the two masters. “Iroh, I'd like you to meet my apprentice Azi.”

 

Azula bowed and then looked up. Her uncle was giving her a well hidden skeptical once over. She tensed but he seemed to find something in her eyes that stopped him from expressing any doubts in her as a person.

 

“Is something the matter Iroh?” asked Master Tuk, Iroh's face instantly split into a welcoming smile.

 

“Not at all, her hair just threw me for a second, is that the new look for air benders?” asked Iroh with humor.

 

“No, just a bad prank,” said Azi.

 

“If it was just a bad prank than you wouldn't still be using the dye,” said Master Tuk with a smile. “Go ahead and go torment Saki, I'm sure she's missed you.”

 

Azula bowed indulgently to her master and turned to leave. At least her uncle's presence did some good. She got to spend more time with her friends, for once not wanting to seek solitude that helped calmed her need to violently but efficiently make sure her brother would only be a memory. Now though, it didn't seem as important, now making sure she spent more time with her friend was, she was the reason she was sparing her brother after all.

 

“Azi!” cried Saki as Azula finally went to the top of the temple. No one had known where her friend was. She wasn't in her usually places surrounded by scrolls, talking to important Elders and the like, practicing air bending somewhere sane, or in the village. Azi was surprised to see that most people were only hesitant toward and allowed their children greet her. Though a few now looked at her with caution.

 

“What the hell are you doing here?” asked Azula, hands on her hips, she glanced at the sky. “Especially when it's so stormy looking. Did it look like this a few minutes ago?”

 

“No, but…” a thunder clap made the girls jump. Both girls ran into the temple just as the rain started pelting the roof.

 

“What the hell?” asked Azula as hail started to pound against the roof and the wind started picking up.

 

“These storms can creep on you, you know that,” said Saki, but winced as another thunder clap sounded.

 

“Right,” said Azula dully. “Well, if this happens the next few days in a row we can guess that it's the spirit expressing its discontent in a whole new fun way. Instead of a few broken pots and cracked walls. We'll have roofs ripped off by the wind, water damage, flooding, leaking, and hyperactive children not allowed outside for hours on end. And believe me, I'm disappearing right after teaching them, I'm not getting stuck with them longer then I already have to put up with them.”

 

“You're a saint,” said Saki with a shaky smile. “I hope you're wrong.”

 

“I'm not,” said Azula, Saki shook her head.

 

“I don't think you are. Come on, let's find Aang and the rest and see what they have to say on this sudden rainstorm,” said Saki, hitting her glider so that it snapped back together. Azula followed a bit reluctantly, when she walked into the room, there was general mayhem, the Avatar was trying to keep everyone calm. Azula made her way to Gato who looked like he was trying to sink into the wall. Azula smiled at him and nodded, he nodded back and looked back at the crowd.

 

“Shut up,” the avatar sure had a good set of lungs working for him. “Listen everyone you need to calm down, this isn't clear yet. I'm heading down to the cave. Yes, I know that I can't talk directly to the spirit but I'll be able to tell if the storm was created by it. You all should concentrate on what you can help with and that's the state your home is going to be in after this storm, especially if it lasts.”

 

The wind blew hard against the temple; Jet was suddenly clinging to Azula's pant legs. The blue haired girl looked down at the kid with a raised eyebrow. He looked at her with wide rabbit-doe eyes. She sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

 

“What can we do against a spirit?” demanded one of the Elders. Azula rolled her eyes, that was not what the avatar meant.

 

“That's not what I meant,” said the avatar with an exasperated sigh. He was obviously restraining the need to yell at them or talk to them like they were children. “Leave that up to me, what you need to concentrate is on the material.”

 

“The material but that isn't what air benders were concerned about?” came another elderly voice.

 

“It's what the villagers will be concerned about tomorrow,” said Azula, all eyes turned to her as she picked up Jet onto her hip since he had been threatening to pull her pants down by trying to scamper up her on the last thunder clap. “Their houses will probably be destroyed and they won't be happy, we need to find an efficient way to work out how to go about restoring their way of living and restocking everyone's food supply. Probably set up teams.”

 

“Ah, Azi, we've been looking for you!” said the old overweight `mother' Shiki, she scared the hell out of Azula, which was the reason she never associated with the kids outside class unless she couldn't help it. Plus, what did she mean she had been waiting? “Your needed at the nursery.”

 

She could see that name being a problem with some of the older kids. Hey, wait, what had she said?

 

“Come on, girl, don't stand there looking stupid, those poor little dears are waiting for their strong teacher to come protect them,” Azula glared at the woman. Her glare was ignored as the woman just started to pull her toward the back. She caught a few looks that seemed amused by her being pulled to watch over kids. Even Gato looked like he was trying to fight back giggles. “You can come too Gato, it'll be good for kids to see that Azi can protect even big kids from the thunder.”

 

Gato glared, but ducked when thunder boomed.

 

Azi walked to the room, fuming, the damn woman didn't notice, or didn't care. So she walked into the room of children three thunder claps late, the last one sounded as if it was right on top of them and shook the whole building. When she entered the darkened nursery she couldn't even see most of the children. Only two who didn't seem afraid of the thunder and just seemed bored to be locked in. That didn't mean they didn't light up when Azula walked through the door, it just meant that they were the last ones to her from the stampede who started clinging to her and talking and crying all at once.

 

It took a while to calm them all down. By the time she had a second to breathe she noticed that Shiki had bailed on her. Flaky woman, this was not part of what Azula was supposed to do. But the kids refused to let her out of eyesight, and even Gato seemed to be more comfortable with her and was now resting after an importune story by Azula on the floor.

 

“Azi,” came a loud whisper. Azula glanced toward the door. The avatar was beckoning her over. Azula sighed but stood up to leave, anything to get away from the many bodies that were surrounding her.

 

“What do you want?” she asked quietly, looking up as thunder shook the building again, a few kids stirred but none woke up.

 

“You looked upset when you left,” said the Avatar, Azula raised an eyebrow and leaned against the wall. “I just wanted you to know that they immediately started on plans.”

 

“So they wanted me there?” asked Azula dryly.

 

“Well, no,” said Aang awkwardly. “But not for the reason you think. It wasn't because they thought you were insane or anything like that, it was because when you start planning anything, you tend to be a little too intense and also go a little overboard. Oh, and you have inspiring speeches that are more scary than helpful.”

 

“Well, that makes me feel so much better,” said Azula sarcastically. The avatar winced. “But I can see where they're coming from.”

 

“I want to make it up to you,” said the avatar seriously. He looked excited, Azula was very worried.

 

“How?”

 

“I'm going to come and teach the little ones with you tomorrow. It'll be great!” the avatars devastating words were punctuated by thunder.

 

“What?” said Azula.

 

“Azi,” a small voice with a little fear drew her attention away for a precious second.

 

“We'll have fun tomorrow, you'll see!” yelled the avatar already going around the next corner. Azula tried to go after him for a second. Before a chorus of her name came from more kids. She couldn't chase the avatar now; she'd get in trouble with Saki and the rest of the temple.

 

“Azi!” their voices were raising in fear. Azula groaned, but turned and went to soothe the kids. She wasn't even sure what she used as an excuse as to why she had been outside the door and not with them. All she could do was continue to curse the avatar and all his damn goody-goody friends as she calmed the kids down and started telling them another modified story. Gato looking at her goofily.