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Azula's Lost Chapters OR Azula's New Cook	By : DecieverGod Category: Avatar - The Last Airbender > Het - Male/Female Views: 13899 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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As it turned out, getting into the ferry port wasn’t as hard as one would’ve thought it would’ve been. The problem was getting a passport. ‘No passport no ticket’ after all.

“Man that lady’s annoying.” Tatsuya muttered under his breath as he wandered the refugee encampment. It was surprising how many people were camped out here, of course it was the only way into Ba Sing Sei but he’d sort of pictured it as more of a transit point, it appeared to be more of an encampment.

Complete with thieves apparently… Tatsuya shifted his weight a little, planting his halberd’s back end between the legs of the man behind him and then with a twirl of the staff he sent the would-be thief spiraling onto his back. A second circle of his halberd and the thief was starring down the blade. “Don’t do that.” The captain said with a bored tone, though a menacing look in his eyes.

Then something strange and unfamiliar happened. People started applauding him. Impressed with his skill with his halberd, the hopeless refugees of this place were applauding him. Tatsu blinked lightly before lightly rubbing the back of his head, he didn’t really know what to do, and he didn’t really want all these people looking at him.

“What’s going on here?!” The port guards ran up, some drew their swords when they saw him standing there with a huge metallic spear, but upon arriving they sort of relaxed.

“This man tried to pick my pocket.” Tatsuya gestured to the muddy man lying on the ground.

“Ahh, another pickpocket huh? Well we appreciate your help in this matter. You can stand down now.” They didn’t really phrase standing down like it was a suggestion.

“Yeah, right.” The captain had better things to be doing anyway. He twirled his halberd, intent on sheathing it on his back, but noticed half way through the twirl that his sheath was attached to the back of his armor, which he wasn’t wearing. He sighed a little and set his mind to the task at hand.

He needed to get a passport. The problem was how did he go about doing that? He supposed he could steal one, but first he’d have to find someone who had one, and they were all behind the wall to the ferries. There was a legal method of getting a passport, but judging from the masses of refugees waiting in line, such method was both very long and arduous, or it was very difficult to actually get one. Both of which were things that the Captain couldn’t afford to waste time.

Every moment he wasted here was a moment Princess Azula could be… He shook his head, he couldn’t think of things like that, they made him nervous, and he couldn’t afford to get nervous, not while the Princess’s life could be on the line.

Of course it wasn’t. In fact at the moment Azula was threatening lives as she bided her time within the walls of Ba Sing Sei. The three ‘Kyoshi Warriors’ were being treated to a spa day on by Ju Dee, and as the princess put it, why not enjoy their forced reprieve. The princess was used to being pampered, all the fussing reminiscent of the palace, and Mai remained as dower as ever, but Ty Lee was practically bubbling over with glee and girlish delight.

Tatsuya was having less fun. He’d walked one full circle around the refugee camp, and though he hadn’t seen half of it, it was clear that there wasn’t any way for him to sneak onto a ferry, not that he was entirely surprised, there were hundreds of refugees here, if there was a way to sneak onto a ferry it would’ve been found long ago, and if there was a simple, jumpable, gate they would’ve run it by now.

He supposed that he could start a fire and try to sneak past the guards in the chaos. Though that would likely cause more questions than necessary and unless perfectly timed he risked destroying a ferry in the process, or hurting some of the refugees.

Wait. Why did he care about the refugees? They were enemies of the Fire Nation, they were the people who had shunned him for simply being what he was, they were the people he should hate. Weren’t they?

Well, he’d have to figure that out latter, one of them was looking interested in him. “What do you want?” He half turned to look at, what he assumed was a woman, though she looked a bit more like a bear, she was wearing what looked to be hog-monkey pelts, complete with one of their heads on her left shoulder. Though more interestingly she had a large crescent sword, and didn’t have it drawn.

“My name’s Xan, I’m the leader of the Zhang.” She put her hand on her hips like that was supposed to be intimidating.

“How nice for you, I care why?” Tatsuya turned the rest of the way to point his pole-arm at this stranger.

“You’re looking for a passport right? Well I think we can get you one.” The Captain relaxed a little, and swung his halberd over his shoulder. “Come on, there’s someone you need to meet.” Xan turned and started walking into the center of the refugee camp; Tatsuya shrugged a little and followed her.

At least things were looking, different, he wasn’t yet sure if this person he ‘needed to meet’ was going to be a good thing or a bad thing, but worst case scenario he could probably bend enough fire to cause a panic and rush the guards. The problem with that plan was running a ferry by himself, and running the risk of being sunk before he got to the wall, or being imprisoned once he did.

No his best chance at getting into the city unnoticed was to slip in with another group of refugees. Maybe these Zhang people were the solution.

Then Tatsuya looked around. What greeted him was such a mixed sight that for a moment he had to doubt he was actually seeing it. It was as if someone had taken two different spectrums of civilization and mixed them together. There were at least three tents that looked stitched together, and more or less matched him impression of where this Xan woman would’ve camped. But beside there were a small handful of soft white tents, complete with their rain tarp put up over them, in an underground cave! Maybe these Zhang weren’t the best choice in allies, they seemed to be a little, bipolar.

He was lead to a large neat looking tent, and when the burly looking woman pulled the tarp aside he say something he most definitely wasn’t expecting. There was a very neat and trim old man, white hair and a recently cut short beard sitting behind a very neat desk doing paperwork. “Ah there’s the young halberdier now. Please have a seat.” The odd old man offered a chair just to the side of the center of the tent, and just across the desk from him.

Xan just sort of stormed in to kind of hunch in the corner. Tatsuya slowly walked in and took a seat, leaning his halberd on the side of the chair. “Yeeah… who are you?” He said looking around skeptically. These two were very odd, and this was coming from someone who’d just spent the past months with Mai, Ty Lee and Azula.

“Oh well how rude of me.” The old man coughed into his hand. “I am Hakuraman, leader of the Gan Jin; it’s a pleasure to meet you.” He smiled as if Tatsuya should know who he was.

“Tatsuya Shouhei…” The Captain didn’t, nor did he see any reason to use an alias. Sure his name wasn’t as common as some, but he was a no name bottom ranked soldier, even if someone knew where to look for proof he was in the Fire Navy, they’d have a hard time finding it. “I beg your pardon, but should I know who you are?”

The old man laughed lightly, but only for a moment. “Ah yes well. I suppose you are a recent addition to our little refugee camp here. Ahem, allow me to explain. Sometime ago the forefathers of the Gan Jin and Zhang tribes ran into a… rather nasty misunderstanding, now until a recent rectification of this… erroneous history thanks to the Avatar the Gan Jin and the Zhang have reunited into one tribe.”

“For better or worse the Jin tribes have never been so prosperous.” Xan took over, though the Captain’s interest in this history lesson was, minimal. “Our two people left for Ba Sing Sei as one people, and along the way discovered that our… unique talents happen to be, complementary…”

“Yes well…” Hakuraman coughed into his hand again. “Since then we’ve become quite the influence people. But even for us it proved difficult to shall we say, acquire enough passports for all our people to cross at once.”

“Okay…” Tatsuya was starting to grow very suspicious of these two; they were starting to sound like gangsters.

“Look Tatsuya, you seem like a decent enough fellow, so I’m going to be honest with you.” The old man leaned over his desk a little. “We’ve been left in a rather difficult position. Most of our people are already in the city, while our leaders, Xan and myself, have remained behind to keep things orderly, and our tribes’ recent success may have, ahem, ruffled a few feathers shall we say?”

“What Mr. Longwinded here is trying to say is he wants you to tag along with us on the ferry and into Ba Sing Sei to make sure nobody gets any big ideas about shortening anybody’s neck.” Xan was a bit less patient, and thankfully so, all this double talk was starting get annoying. This Hakuraman character could use to meet Princess Azula and take a lesson in double speak.

But it did beg the question. “Just what is it that’s made you so… prosperous?”

Hakuraman chuckled nervously. “That’s for us to know, and for you to keep people from finding out.” Xan answered.

“Fine by me. So long as I get paid and get into the city I couldn’t care less what you have me doing.” Tatsuya was perhaps colder than necessary, but he didn’t really want to get friendly with these people. Not because of their shadiness, but because of his own.

“Speaking of the city… Just why is it that you desire to get into Ba Sing Sei?” The old man delved for information in what he certainly seemed to feel was tactful.

“Do you really need to know that?” Tatsuya knew he was no good at lying, but he also knew that ‘to find Princess Azula of the Fire Nation’ wasn’t exactly going to go over well.

“Yes, we do.” Xan clearly had the upper hand on the whole, information gathering thing, though she wasn’t much more tactful, she was certainly more intimidating.

“I… Previously served the daughter of a noble family,” That was true enough that he could say it with a straight face at least. “I escorted her to the port but was unable to follow her into the city for reasons beyond my control… I haven’t heard from her in several weeks, and I hope to discover why within Ba Sing Sei.”

“A noble family? Who? It wasn’t the Beifongs was it? Because I heard a pair of their retainers headed to the city.” Hakuraman leaned forward, obviously interested, for whatever reason, perhaps he felt he would gain an ounce of prestige employing someone who’d worked for a noble.

“I’d rather not say…” The Captain turned his head slightly, hoping that they would leave it at that. He knew he was a horrible liar, the Princess had told him so…

“Well would you mind telling us at least what it is that you did for this mysterious ‘noble family’ of yours?” Xan was clearly less impressed, and possibly a little more suspicious than absolutely necessary.

“I have amble combat experience.” Also true. “Some light infiltration experience… moderate, uhm, I suppose you could call it espionage… and I can be rather intimidating when I need to be.” All true, who knew working under Princess Azula, would have such practical job applications. Perhaps she should start an apprentice program. “I also did some cooking while under my ladyship’s employ.” Tatsuya smirked a little. “I’m apparently quite good.”

“I have to say I’m more and more interested in whom this noble family of yours is…” Xan shifted a little. Tatsuya shifted more.

“Oh come now, I’m certain that were we the previous employers of such… misunderstand-able acts we wouldn’t want Our names thrown about for something as simple as references.” Hakuraman smiled lightly and seemed to almost dispel Xan’s doubts, as he fumbled about his desk for something. “Ah here you are.” He slid a small slip of paper over his desk toward Tatsuya. Upon closer inspection it was a simple blank passport. “There’s your passport, we’ll be expecting to see you tomorrow morning on the next ferry, and you’ll understand if we insist that you stick around until then.” He chuckled a little.

“Of course.” The Captain pocketed the passport, he might have to fill his name in later, but if the guards would let him on the ferry without his name on it, then all the better.

“Make sure you don’t lose that.” Xan said a little threateningly. “You won’t be getting another.”

“Of course.” Tatsuya stood up and bowed slightly, he had to be conscious of his hands not to instinctively form the Fire Nation seal as he did so. He turned to leave.

“And don’t be late.” The beast woman snapped lightly. The Captain nodded and ducked out of the tent, though only to walk around behind it and discretely slit a hole in fabric so he could eavesdrop. “I don’t know about this ‘outside help’ of yours Harkuraman… something doesn’t smell right about this kid.”

“Nonsense, you never liked the idea of getting some additional assistance, and you’re probably just upset that he bathes more often than you do.”

Tatsuya shook his head and walked away from the tent containing the two. I have just gotten in bed with the most dysfunctional mob family every. He thought to himself as he sighed a little, staring up at the large wall that kept the waters of the Serpent’s Pass back, the large stone walls that bore the Earth Kingdom’s crest. The same walls that stood between him and his princess, he tightened his the grip on his halberd, stashing his new passport in his shirt.

“I will always serve you first princess.” He whispered to himself. It didn’t sit right with him, taking a job serving someone else. Not just someone else, but someone from the Earth Kingdom. It felt… treacherous. It felt like he was turning his back on the Fire Nation, on Azula. But what scared him more, was that it didn’t feel wrong. Half his blood was crying out in protest, screaming at him in rage, calling him a traitor and a turncoat, but the other half, the half he hated to admit he had, the half of him that was Earth Kingdom. That half of him, the half that normally hated him, that half… felt right. “Know that princess… and be safe.”

Meanwhile while Tatsuya was having his first ever identify crisis. Azula was actually enjoying herself.

Well perhaps ‘enjoying’ was a bit strong of a word. She still wasn’t at all pleased with being delayed, or having to deal with this insufferable woman Ju Dee, who seemed to be able to be almost everywhere, making it rather difficult to be spies, but what particularly irked the noble princess was not being allowed to Fire Bend. She’d never realized just how much she used it on the day to day.

No longer was she allowed to simply snap her fingers and ignite torches to light her bedroom, or flick her fingers to snuff them out at night. She couldn’t even risk heating her own bath, being uncertain of what was being watched and what wasn’t, it was best to simply not risk it.

Come to think of it ‘enjoying’ was probably the worst possible description of how the princess felt about her current situation.

Though there were advantages. Whoever was pulling Ju Dee’s strings was doing their best to keep the ‘Kyoshi Warriors’ happy while they delayed them. And while their idea of things that young warrior women liked to do in their free time seemed to have sprung directly from Ty Lee’s mind, the Princess was making the most of it. She’d even taken to attempting to cook for her trio, although her first few attempts had been tantamount to charcoal, she was improving… slowly. Regardless Ju Dee had begun treating the three to meals at various restaurants, much to Mai’s, well, improved dower-ness…

Azula pouted a little as she laid a tray of her latest attempt at the culinary art out for her friends. “Tatsuya made cooking look easy.” She said offhandedly as she strolled about their upper ring apartment. The three had just returned from being treated to a dinner by Ju Dee, or whoever her employers were at least, and the princess had decided to make a light snack before she and her friends went to bed.

Ty Lee smirked a little as she crawled over on her hands toward the plate of sushi. “It’s so nice of you to make us a snack Azula.” She flipped down to sit on her legs and popped one of the small seaweed wrapped treats into her mouth. She then turned a little green and swallowed hard, smirking and rubbing the back of her head as she sort of backed away from the food.

“This is bordering on aggravating…” Azula sort of ignored both the gymnast’s comment and reaction. “We’ve been here too long already and we have neither heard nor seen any trace of the Avatar.”

“Well it is a big city…” Ty Lee offered. “Way bigger than anyplace I’ve ever been.”

Azula crossed her arms over her chest and stared out of the small window, looking out onto the glittering nightlights of the expansive Earth Kingdom capital. “True enough I suppose.” The city was much larger than any other even the Princess had seen before. Though the Fire Nation didn’t have any place like the slums of the outer-ring either. At least that Azula had ever seen. “But I still can’t help but feel we should be on our guard… this city is more than it seems…” The princess narrowed her eyes, staring out across the way; she could just make out the forms of two robe sporting men clinging to the roof of a building. Someone was spying on them.

But was it because they suspected them as Fire Nation spies, or simply because they were a new group of questionably aligned warriors? Azula twirled a lock of her hair around her fingers. If they were being watched they’d have to be careful… Which meant that the Azula couldn’t risk Fire Bending, at least not publicly, and suppressing her bending was really starting to aggravate the princess.

Well at least she’d found some solace in cooking, it was a covert way to employ her bending, and truthfully the Princess was finding something, almost soothing, about cooking.

“This sushi looks… burnt.” Even if the princess wasn’t really any good at it.

It was a few hours before the next ferry left. The Jin tribes gave Tatsu the time to ‘ready himself’ which rather simply translated meant get his things together, which he didn’t actually need to do since he foolishly left most of his things behind with the Fire Nation train.

He was really starting to question the wisdom of his whole ‘help the princess’ plan, or at least setting off on it without doing any actual planning. All he had was the clothes on his back, and his halberd. He didn’t even have his bending to rely on, if anyone caught him Fire Bending than he’d be imprisoned and the whole thing would be a bust.

Then again, if he was imprisoned on the ferry they might move him to the prison in Ba Sing Sei, which would likely be where they would be holding Princess Azula.

No, that assumed that the princess had already been captured, he could just assume things like that, if she hadn’t been captured… if she hadn’t been captured… than she didn’t need his help and this whole trip was pointless… worse than pointless. It was treason. She had told him, directly told him to stay behind.

Tatsuya bit his thumb nervously. Just sort of needing something to chew on to take his mind off how many things were wrong with what he was doing.

He took a deep breath and shook his head. He couldn’t let himself think like that. If the princess was fine than she could tell him so to his face, at least then he’d be certain she was safe. He was sure her father the Fire Lord would’ve wanted him to air on the side of caution.

But then again, he’d never met the Fire Lord…

Tatsuya shook his head, and snatched up his halberd.

He had a boat to catch.
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Azula's Lost Chapters OR Azula's New Cook