dive and disappear without a trace (ATLA x BNHA)

Chapter Twelve

Shouto's legs pushed to throw him out of the way of an incoming rhinocerous, the beast's trampling hooves stamping directly over where his body had been. He let his momentum spin him into a sharp pivot to face the rhino and its rider, then with a wave of his hand, glistening sheets of ice erupted to encase both enemies in a miniature iceberg.

The creatures had been a bit terrifying to contend with at first; their thrashing weight had been more than enough to break through Shouto's initial layers of ice, as he was unsure of the amount needed to hold such a large animal. He had suffered minor scratches and torn clothing from when the rhinos had grazed him in the beginning stages of battle, but he had since figured out the necessary thickness of ice to confine them.

Only a couple hours after training with the Kyoshi warriors, Zuko had appeared in all of his rageful glory. Shouto almost couldn't believe he'd found them only a day or two after they'd landed, but he supposed that if people randomly saw an enormous flying bison, they'd talk. Shouto had bigger worries at the moment, however; the raging flames from the firebenders' attacks were relentless, voraciously consuming one house after the next. Shouto sent out a sheet of ice to extinguish them, gritting his teeth when more fires roared to life soon after.

Shouto narrowed his eyes in anger, tsking. The town couldn't survive these fires much longer. He had no other option but to smother them at the source.

He took off running, his pounding feet propelling him faster and faster. The burning air constricted his lungs, and unbidden, images of his father flickered before his eyes. He shook them away just as quickly. He couldn't let himself be distracted just because he was reminded a little bit of...back then, or because the flames looked just like Endeavor's, wicked and twisted, or because-

Stop it! You're not there, so just pull it together and help these people already! Shouto cursed himself, picking up the pace. It didn't take long to find Zuko, and he skidded to a halt a safe ten feet away. Zuko was planted in front of a small home, his arm held up to burn it down.

"Hey!" Shouto yelled, his ice racing to encase Zuko before he could cause further property damage. It did the trick; Zuko lunged to avoid the ice, then blasted the fire previously meant for the house directly at Shouto's face. It gave him a vague sense of déjà vu as he rolled out of the way in a practiced dodge, but he paid it no mind. Right now, he had to focus on drawing Zuko away from the village.

"You!" Zuko sputtered in rage as Shouto regained his stance. "The waterbender from the village!" He threw a flaming kick at Shouto; he dodged swiftly.

"That's me," Shouto said. He inched back towards the lake, blocking Zuko's attacks and responding with some of his own.

"Once I capture you and the Avatar, I'm going to bring you back to my father and regain my honor. You'll suffer a fate worse than death for defying me!" Zuko punctuated his words with fiery punches, following Shouto unknowingly outside the village boundaries. The heat from his flames flooded Shouto's senses despite the physical flames being doused, and he winced at the tidal wave of memories trying to push their way to the forefront of his mind.

Before he could be distracted too much, he felt the biting chill of water envelop his ankles. The lake. He had managed to lure Zuko away from the village.

An angry yell from Zuko had Shouto's attention locking back on him, and he turned sideways to avoid the fireball. He noticed his mistake too late. In the midst of his addled state, he hadn't thought of the fact that his vision would be impaired for those moments he was turned - and those few moments could cost everything in a battle.

He wasn't prepared to react as Zuko tackled him into the lake. Choking on the salty seawater, he grappled with Zuko while trying to keep his head from being submerged. All he could think about was how stupid he had been. You should have known better. How could you make such a rookie mistake? You were trained better than this.