Y/N's POV
"Thanks for trying." Y/N coughed, spitting blood as she tried to give Mai a small smile. Mai was chained up several feet away to Y/N's right, with Ty Lee chained further away, next to Mai. All three had their hands chained above their heads, while Y/N also had her ankles on a ball and chain. She was much more pummeled than the Fire Nation girls, who got out with barely a scratch.
"No problem." Mai rolled her eyes. "Least I could do for stealing Zuko." She smirked over at Y/N, but she didn't give much of a reaction.
"Geez, Mai, That was kind of mean, don't you think?" Ty Lee said in a concerned voice, leaning forward as much as she could to look at Y/N. "We totally thought you were dead, like, not even Azula saw that coming, and Azula always knows."
"I take no offense, I chose to die to the world." Y/N laughed. "Mai's great, I'm sure he was fine anyways." She slumped in her chains, not having much energy to move. She was burned, bruised, cut, and still bleeding in multiple places, but she was lucky to not be dead. Azula was beyond livid, Y/N was alive after all, and her two closest friends betrayed her trying to get her out.
"Actually, Zuko totally split with her the other-"
"She's only keeping you around because she wants to know what's so special about you to make us betray her." Mai cut in dully, almost like she'd read her thoughts. "I didn't do it for you, in case you're wondering."
"I know, but thanks anyways." Y/N coughed, blood dripping from her lips. "He needs someone by his side right now. If you guys escape, you can help end the war."
"We can all get out together!" Ty Lee exclaimed, a little nervous undertone slipping out.
"Azula's gonna kill the lot of us eventually." Mai groaned.
"She's too unstable to, at least for now," Y/N disagreed. "She needs answers, not death, so you two will probably be around for awhile longer."
"You're talking like you're gonna die in a few minutes." Ty Lee commented. "Lighten up a little, we're on the same side now, the not-Azula side!"
"Well, one way or another, I don't think I'll be in this prison by tomorrow." Y/N suddenly lunged forward, straining against her chains, and making Ty Lee jump from the sudden rattling and heavy breathing.
"...are— are you okay?" Ty Lee asked nervously, her voice a little squeak, barely audible over the chains rattling. Y/N finally stopped struggling, breathing heavily as she slumped to one side.
"And she said Azula's unstable." Mai nudged her with her foot. "Hey there. Get it together, you'll hurt yourself."
"Mai, you don't understand." Y/N breathed, sitting bolt upright and looking over at her. "He knows. He knows I'm alive. I made a terrible decision."
"What did you do??" Mai roared, swinging a foot around, and, with some difficulty, kicking Y/N hard in the stomach. Y/N choked, coughing up more blood as she drew her legs in, recovering from the hit.
"Mai! Oh my gosh!" Ty Lee worried, trying to get a better look at Y/N. "Are you okay? I'm so sorry! Mai, she's already just hanging in there, you'll kill her!"
"She was already supposed to be dead! Do you realize what you've done to Zuko? He was just beginning to get over you!" Mai was terrifyingly angry, pulling against her restraints as Y/N coughed, letting her legs straighten out again.
"...he— he was?" Y/N managed, breathing slowly to get a hold of her consciousness.
"That's such an outright, lie, Mai!" Ty Lee fumed. It seemed impossible for Ty Lee to get angry, but here she was. "You really think he would want to stay with you right after Y/N died? You tried getting with him way too fast, and I heard what you were saying to him!! I thought I wouldn't say anything, but I'm sick of being quiet!"
"You were SPYING??"
"I was NOT. Azula told me to go get you, and I walked in when you told him that Y/N had just been manip-"
"That was a rather long conversation to just 'walk in' on!"
"SHUT UP!" Y/N snapped, causing them to fall silent. "Does it matter??! Azula is going to kill me, and it was my choice to go back and get captured. Please stop arguing about Zuko when in the end, it's his feelings, it's his decisions. Stop talking about him, please."
They watched her slump against the wall, leaning more on her left side, as he Right was badly burned.
"...can I just say one thing?" Ty Lee asked tentatively.
"One thing." Y/N rasped.
"He wrote letters to you back in the Fire Nation." Ty Lee smiled sadly. "Every night he would write to you. He would never send them, of course, you were dead, and most of them are a little tear smudgy, but maybe Azula will let you read them? Or I could steal them before she kills you— I know where they are."
"Anyways, what I'm trying to say is... he misses you."
—| § ථ § |—
Zuko's POV
"...why?" Zuko sat at the fire, everyone around the circle staring at him. No one answered.
"I can't believe she's not dead." Jet breathed, raking his finger through his hair. "We're going back for her, right? We have to."
"You know she won't be there by the time the security calms down." Sokka said, his voice strained. "She'll be moved, or executed, in the next day." He stood abruptly, punching the nearest wall of the temple. "Why'd she do that??"
"To save the lot of you." Katara said simply. "Why didn't you tell us? We could've gone with you." She didn't even seem angry, which was even scarier than when she was.
"Why did she hide it from me?" Zuko said suddenly, and everyone looked over at him. The fact that he hadn't said a coherent sentence since leaving gave a new sense of importance to any word he said, but now that he had formed a thought, they could finally understand him.
"You know that she was hiding from Azula." Aang spoke up when everyone else stayed quiet. "She was still scared of you, but more scared of herself than anything. She hid, in the interest of saving you from being broken by her again."
"I miss her." Toph sniffed, hugging her knees tighter to herself. It began to rain in the temple, forcing the group to move inside. Zuko mechanically started the indoor fire.
"The comet is coming. We need to finish this fight, for Y/N." Katara spoke up, rising from her seat. "We can sit here, moping, or we can get ready. Aang still need to learn firebending, and we all need to train, and prepare." She held a palm towards the downcast group.
After a few seconds, Zuko reached out, grabbing her hand firmly, and standing with her. Slowly, the group stood, taking hand in hand until they stood in a circle, all looking around at eachother.
"We will train our hardest, be ready, and finish what Y/N started." Katara announced, a determined smile creeping onto her face. "She'd laugh at us if we sat around like this." Everyone murmured in agreement, the smile spreading around the circle.
And for one moment, just one, Zuko thought he could see a silent, white apparition standing behind Sokka, across the circle from him. Y/N's form chuckled, covering a light laugh with one hand, before disappearing in a gust of wind.
"We can mourn, or we can rise."
YOU ARE READING
Find Me | Zuko x reader | Avatar the Last Airbender | Book 1
FanfictionY/N was getting sick of the South Pole. Her cocky twin brother Sokka, her insufferable little sister Katara, the endless snow, ice, water, and chores. Yes, she loved the place, and her family, but ever since father left she had basically been lookin...
