Traitor - Zuko X Reader

Chapter 26

It's been a week since our last run in with Combustion Man (or Sparky Sparky Boom Man according to Sokka) and I've been on edge preparing for his next attack. Our last run-in had been in a Fire Nation village and if Toph and Katara hadn't stepped in when they did, I feared he would have succeeded in taking out Aang. The large man was insanely powerful, with each of his attacks being precise and deadly. Each time he's attacked we've been lucky to barely escape, choosing to run than to fight him. But I knew that no matter how much we ran all over the Fire Nation, he would find us. So, in my spare time I began trying to figure out potential weaknesses to take him down.

I was in the middle plotting against him as I absentmindedly brushed Appa's fur as he slept. Each memory of our past encounters with Combustion Man rushed through my head, remembering just how close he had been to seriously hurting one of my friends. I had to be ready for him, being caught off guard was a weakness I knew he thrived off of as each of his attacks happened when I least expected. I had been training like crazy, using most of my spare time to enhance my strength and agility. I also had my theories on who sent this man after us. I knew he was likely a Fire Nation assassin and his brutal attacks and mercilessness had 'Azula' written all over it. I scowled, remembering her triumphant face back in those caverns all those months ago. The burn scar on my arm seemed to tingle as rage boiled in my stomach. Appa made a groaning sound and I realized I had stopped brushing him.

"Sorry, Appa." I whispered as I ran a hand through his fur, the sensation grounded me and eased the tension in my body.

I decided it was time to join everyone else and slowly made my way over to the campfire where Sokka was telling a scary story. " . . . And they knew the blade of Wing-Fun was haunted!" He then began making weird 'ghost' sounds, the kids all looked unimpressed with his antics.

I stood a few feet behind Sokka, him being too distracted telling his story to hear me walking up. I met eyes with Aang and placed a finger to my mouth before sneaking up behind Sokka. I reached up and slammed both hands onto his shoulders yelling, "BOO!"

He let out a high pitched scream, nearly falling into the campfire had I not been holding his shoulders. "(Y/N)! You scared me!"

"That was kind of the point," I smirked before plopping down in the space beside him.

The kid's laughter died down and Aang remarked, "That story was awful, Sokka. I think I like 'the man with a sword for a hand' better."

"Water Tribe slumber parties must stink," Toph added.

Katara perked up, "No, wait I've got one and this is a true Southern Water Tribe story."

"This isn't one of those 'a friend of my cousin knew some guy that this happened to' story?" Sokka asked, skeptically as he sat down.

"No, it happened to mom." This immediately shut Sokka up and we all listened intently as Katara told us her story. "One winter, when mom was a girl a snowstorm buried the whole village for weeks. A month later, mom realized she hadn't seen her friend Nini since the storm. So mom and some others went to check on Nini's family. When they got there, no one was home. Just a fire flickering in the fireplace while the men went out to search, mom stayed in the house. When she was alone, she heard a voice." Sokka changed her voice to sound like a creepy little girl as she recited, "'It's so cold and I can't get warm.'" She went back to her normal voice, "Mom turned and saw Nini standing by the fire. She was blue like she was frozen. Mom ran outside for help, but when everyone came back Nini was gone."

Sokka was hiding behind a tree root but he peaked up to ask, "Where did she go?"
"No one knows. Nini's house stands empty to this day. But sometimes people see smoke coming up from the chimney like little Nini is still trying to get warm."