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The Last Woodbender Chapter 3 (Fire Burns Everything)
🕑 Added 2021-12-24 19:27:21 +0000 UTCMerry Christmas
Before
It was a warm night in the Fire Nation. The moon shone high on a cloudless, black sky.
Everyone in the Royal Palace was sleeping at this late hour, except Ursa. She couldn't sleep a wink. She tried really hard to fall asleep but to no avail.
The princess left her bedroom with a candle in her hand, walking through the empty, dark palace corridors toward the kitchen to drink a cup of water. She could have ordered a servant to bring her some water, but she didn't want to wake anyone up and start a commotion. Besides, she didn't like ordering others around.
Ursa respected the people who served her and her family, but she didn't like relying on them for every little thing and exploiting them, even though most would argue it was their job. It just didn't seem right, and she wasn't comfortable with it.
As Ursa got closer to the kitchen, she entered the corridor with Azula's and Zuko's rooms. She passed by Zuko's room quietly, but when she was a few meters away from Azula's, she heard a creaking sound as the door was slowly opened. She stopped seeing her daughter walking out of her room while rubbing her eyes and closing the door behind her. Azula spun around to see her mother after she noticed the candlelight. She looked startled but also exhausted, having small dark circles under her eyes which had been half open until she saw her mother. She was now facing Ursa wide-eyed.
"I was just going back to my room," Azula said after a few seconds, putting her hand back on the door handle.
Ursa looked at her, worried.
"Are you alright, Azula?" she asked.
"Yes. I just wanted to drink some water," she said, annoyed. Even though she was obviously tired, she seemed in a rush to get away from her mother. This saddened Ursa. She really loved her and cared about her, but she knew she wasn't always doing the best job of showing her that. She tried hard to be a good mother for Azula and Zuko, but her husband made that difficult.
She stepped closer to Azula and put a hand on her shoulder.
"Come on, tell me what's wrong," she said gently. "Did you have a nightmare?"
"No, I already told you, mom. I was thirsty. Now I'll go back to sleep," Azula said coldly. She looked away from Ursa and folded her arms. "Since when do you care about me anyway? Don't you have to worry about Zuzu? Or you're here just because he doesn't need you right now, and you want to make sure I don't get into trouble?" Azula said acidly.
"Azula, I love you, and I care about you. I know I don't show it to you enough, but I'm doing my best for you and your brother. I want to help you if something's bothering you. You don't have to keep it to yourself. You can tell me. " Ursa smiled encouragingly at her, urging her to say what was on her mind.
Her mother didn't usually speak like this to her. She was always so busy giving Zuko all the attention that she neglected her.
Azula stood there for a second. She couldn't sleep all night. It was really frustrating, and she wasn't sure what to do. She thought maybe a breath of fresh air and a few minutes in the gardens would help, but her mom came out of nowhere, and she had to go back to her room now. Azula didn't have anything to say to her and just wanted to go to bed and be left alone. She'd be fine just by herself, and she'd fall asleep eventually.
It's horrible. I just want to sleep, but I can't. I hate this, and I don't need her. I never did, and I never will. She was about to go back to her room, but she thought about how she'd stay in her bed for hours, struggling to catch some sleep, all alone.
As much as Azula wanted to avoid her mother, she admitted trying again to sleep would be really hard and unpleasant. Maybe even more unpleasant than spending time with the woman that, no matter what Azula did, wouldn't appreciate her and would only criticize her and complain how she was mean to her favorite child.
Azula didn't know why her mother pretended to care now, and there was nothing she could do to help anyway, but it was better to tell her the truth instead of being all alone. This is probably a bad decision, and I might end up regretting it, but here we go.
"I can't fall asleep. I've been trying for hours, but I can't," Azula told Ursa.
"It happens sometimes. I can't sleep either. Would you like us to go to the garden for a while?" Ursa said.
Azula looked away again. She still wasn't sure she wanted to be in her presence. It wasn't nice to be mom's least favorite child, but she had no trouble with that. Azula didn't need anyone. She did great just by herself. But maybe it wouldn't hurt to go for a walk outside since she wanted to do that anyway. However, even though at first she would have preferred to be alone, perhaps it'd be good to have some company.
"Alright," she said.
Ursa smiled at her again.
"Come on," the princess said, a hint of joyfulness in her voice.
Azula felt the gentle wind on her skin as they entered the garden. It was warm and pleasant outside. The bright stars were sparkling in the dark sky. She looked at the scenery overhead for a few moments.
"It's a beautiful night, isn't it?" Ursa asked.
"I guess," Azula replied in a neutral voice.
They walked a few meters to the pond and sat down. Minutes passed without either of them saying anything. Azula looked at her reflection in the water.
In the darkness, she barely saw the dark circles under her eyes, but they were there. She frowned. I ought to get some sleep, but the problem is I don't feel tired at all.
She looked tired, though, because she struggled to sleep and could see it in her face.
After some time, Ursa finally began speaking.
"I'm sorry I haven't been a good mother. I haven't given you enough attention, and I haven't told you how much I love you enough times. It's just... It's hard to raise two kids at the same time-"
"Yes, because I'm so mean and horrible, and Zuzu is so great," Azula cut her off.
"Azula, I never said that."
"But you mean it," her daughter replied, looking her in the eye.
"I don't. I know I left you the impression I prefer him over you, but that's not true. You're both amazing children, and I love you equally. I admit I spent more time with him, but that's because your father isn't giving him any attention."
"Don't blame father," Azula said, infuriated. "If Zuko would be good enough to deserve his love, he'd get it. He doesn't deserve your love either."
Ursa was surprised and outraged that Azula spoke like that about her brother. She opened her mouth to tell her how awful it was to treat Zuko that way but stopped, feeling her anger dissipate.
It was meant to say something like that, but Azula only thought these things because she didn't feel loved enough. That was why she wanted to be better than Zuko at everything-so her parents appreciated her.
Ozai had a very bad influence on her. He turned her against Zuko and made her see him and everyone who wasn't perfect as a failure.
Azula was a wonderful child, and the only thing her father did was give her bad examples, cultivate negative thoughts and feelings inside her and turn her into a competitive and hateful person. He had too many expectations and put too much pressure on her, and, to be honest, he didn't even love her.
It hurt Ursa to admit this, but it was true. Ozai loved neither his kids nor anyone else in his family. He didn't even love Ursa. They had an arranged marriage just so he and Azulon could be in control of Avatar Roku's bloodline. But this wasn't about her. It was about Azula. She needed to know her mother cared about her and was proud of her.
"Azula, I'm sorry your father has so many expectations and induces you to feel so much anger and hate. I know it's very frustrating, but I'm here for you."
"What are you talking about? Dad's great, and he teaches me to be the best. How is that bad?" Azula said, but a hint of doubt made its way into her mind. She hated to admit it, but sometimes she got tired, and it became hard to catch her breath, struggling to be the perfect child.
I am perfect, and I shouldn't listen to her. Dad wants what's best for me. He wouldn't have many expectations if he didn't think I was up to the challenge. It's his way of showing how capable he thinks I am to do anything I have to. Azula wanted to believe these things, she really did, but she couldn't dismiss the thought that her mother was right.
No matter how hard she tried to convince herself, mom just wanted her to be nice to Zuko; she couldn't. Something in her voice, in her eyes, told Azula she actually... cared. She was angry to think this stuff about dad, but, deep down, she knew it to be true. This made her really angry and also sad.
"I shouldn't have let him influence you like this. I know you're suffering, and it's exhausting to try to be flawless every day. I let you down, Azula, but I'll make it up to you," Ursa said, putting her hand on Azula's.
Azula didn't want to say anything bad about dad. She loved him, and he loved her, but, for the first time in her life, she felt the need to say what was on her mind.
She just couldn't hold back her thoughts, regardless of how much she tried. She felt weak and miserable, and she despised it. I... I've never seen mom like this. It's the first time she actually wants to talk to me and know how I feel. She actually seems to be honest...
Azula slid her hand from under Ursa's. Then, she put her head in her hands, staring blankly at the pond.
"Sometimes it's... really hard. I do my best to please dad, but it's never enough," Azula said.
Ursa then unexpectedly hugged her tightly. Azula stared in surprise for a couple of seconds before she embraced her mother as well.
"I think you're great the way you are. You don't need to prove anything to me. I love you so much, and I'll prove that to you more often," Ursa promised.
"Thanks, mom," Azula whispered.
They let go and just sat there in silence. Azula didn't know how much time they spent there. It might have been minutes or hours; she had no idea. However, Azula gradually lost awareness of her surroundings as time passed by. She could not concentrate on anything as the sight before her eyes became blurry. Soon, it was tough to keep her eyes open. Slowly, her eyelashes closed, turning everything black as she finally drifted off to sleep. Azula propped her body against her mother's arm.
Ursa gently put her hands around her daughter's waist and placed her on her lap.
In the few remaining seconds of consciousness, before Azula fell asleep, she felt her mother gently caress her on the top of her head. This brought a smile to her face as she felt really calm and relaxed, but also happy.
Mom loves me after all... she thought.
After Three Months
Ursa knew this day might come someday, but she had never thought that would be so soon; Zuko needed her most, her gentle little boy needed him, he would be alone... Azula.
Ursa's mind went to her daughter; they had just started patching things up; Azula even agreed to play Hide and Seek with Zuko a week ago.
And now, Ursa had to leave, and it was too late to do anything more.
Ursa bottled the vial of poison, nearly retching at the thought of what her...husband...was about to do to his own father, a man who treated her with surprising kindness, much more so than Ozai.
But like all warm and gentle things, he eventually grew hard and bitter.
Perhaps it was a fate destined for anyone born into the royal family.
Ursa strolled through the courtyard, robes swaying slightly in the chill breeze. She had one more day left before she had to leave for her banishment.
One more day with her son. One more day with her daughter.
Saltwater stung the corners of her eyes and threatened to leak down.
Overcome by an abrupt sadness, Ursa sat down on a stone bench on the edge of the courtyard, in a tiny niche, hidden away from the rest of the world. It wouldn't do to let anyone else see her in such a state; they might suspect something of her.
Suddenly, she heard a triple chorus of shrill voices.
Peering discreetly from within her sheltered glade, Ursa's eyes lit up as she watched her daughter skipping into the courtyard with two...acquaintances.
Come to think of it, Ursa, those were the only two girls Ursa had seen Azula play with. Perhaps Azula finally allowed some people her own age to come close to her? Ursa's heart tightened slightly at the thought.
"Hey, Ty Lee," said Azula, "Do you know something we can do."
The three girls fell into a silence, pondering how they should spend the afternoon.
"Let's go find Zuzu," said Azula with a smirk; her eyes glanced back at Mai, who suddenly looked nervous.
"I don't wan-"
"Why not? I'm sure Zuzu will be pleased to see you, Mai,"
"Never mind," said Mai, nervously glancing at Azula's hands.
At this, Ty lee shot her wide eyes sideways and said, "Um, maybe we could play house instead..."
"That's boring." said Azula, glaring down at the other girl, "That's what weak people would do."
"Oh," said Ty lee, looking a bit hurt. Ursa's heart clenched uncomfortably.
Despite acting good sometimes, her daughter still didn't understand everything and had a temper, Ozai still affected her.
"Well...actually, it might not be a bad idea." said Azula, "I could be the Fire Lord."
"Wouldn't Zuko be the Fire Lord?" asked Mai.
"Well, you're right perhaps, but Mai should play the Fire Lady then," Azula said with an evil smirk on her face.
Mai looked away slightly, and Ty Lee smiled, knowing what Azula was doing.
The three girls were so innocent, like three blind mice running after the very monster that was cutting off their personal identity.
Just Azula alone was bad enough, but Ozai undoubtedly encouraged the girl to befriend the most powerful other girls in her private classes.
Triple the amount of children, triple the investment and triple the future ammunition. It was disgusting to think about.
Night
After saying farewell to Zuko, she reached her daughter's door; this might be the last time they ever saw each other; with her gone, Azula will only have Zuko to protect her from Him.
Ursa prayed that Iroh would take care of her children; they needed him.
Slowly opening the door, carefully to not make a sound, a small light illuminated the room; stepping inside, she saw candles near a table, the only source of light in the room.
Her daughter was basically hugging her pillow; her hair was loose, a smile on her face. She was just seeing her daughter made Ursa curse Ozai even more for what he has done.
Reaching her bed, she sat in her bed close but not close enough to wake her up; Ursa moved a strand of hair away from her sleepy face.
"My little girl," she whispered, kissing her forehead; she stirred, her head slightly moving, her eyes opened halfway, a confusion filled Azula, she wondered if she was dreaming.
"Mom," she whispered.
"Azula, my sweetheart, I know I didn't say it enough, but I love you will all my heart; things might soon change, but remember that no matter how things might change, never forget who you Are." She said, tears almost falling down her cheek.
Azula looked confused, and she could hardly keep her eyes open; closing them, she suddenly remembered seeing the tears.
Opening them immediately, "Mom," she shouted, not seeing her anymore; her eyes looked around, her windows were open, letting the light of the sun rush inside, kissing her skin; it was morning.
She didn't remember opening the windows last night, moving the pillow away, she stood up.
"Mom," she shouted and rushed outside, not bothering she was still in her nightclothes, her hair loose.
She ran through the palace, checked Zuzu's room and her mother's room but found no one there; finally reaching the garden, she saw Zuko kneeling on the ground, crying.
Azula's eyes widened, her heart stopped for a moment, "Mother," she whispered to herself, tears threatening to fall from her eyes, feeling her hands shaking.
Despite not thinking of her mother as the best from the very beginning, Azula felt sadness spreading on her body like a cold blanket.
Azula almost fell to her knees, almost crying, when Zuko left out a loud sob, looking at him, Azula breathed a huge breath, she wasn't sure what to do, was she supposed to walk away and let him grieve alone, stay where she was and not move or walk over to him...
"Azula,"
Her eyes almost popped out, quickly wiping the unshed tears away from her eyes; she slowly turned around, her heart beating on her throat like a hammer.
Fully turning around, she saw her father standing close to her, six feet away, his voice and face void of emotions, almost like a stone was looking at her instead.
Her heartbeat quickened, feeling... Fear, for the first time in her life, sweat rolled down her face.
"Come with me," he ordered with an unpleasant tone, his eyes focusing on her pale face.
Azula was about to turn around and get to Zuzu when she felt the strong grip of her father on her left arm, dragging her away.
Crying now, she tried to move his hand away, yelling at him to stop. "You're Hurting Me," she yelled, hitting his hand, but the next thing she knew, her body fell and slammed with the ground, her face was lying on the cold ground, her left cheek ablaze, feeling like it was burning.
Her nose was slightly bleeding, her teeth hurting, she wondered what had just happened, but the feeling on her cheek was not going away.
She touched her cheek and felt no wound; looking up, she knew he had slapped her; her cheek was red.
"Now you will listen to me,"
Now
Team Avatar
Seeing the tree around Naruto made the whole group rubbed their eyes, thinking they were dreaming or something; none of them had ever heard of Woodbending.
All three of them opened their eyes again only to see the wood was gone; Sokka was about to call out when he felt someone or something touching his shoulder.
Slowly turning around his head in fear, he saw a branch of a tree on his shoulder and slowly getting close enough to touch his face, his eyes wide and left out a scream of horror and rushed to the other side of the room.
Katara and Aang were rolling on the ground laughing; Sokka grunted at being caught off guard for a second time this day.
Naruto chuckled along with the team. Katara wiped the tears away.
"Tha-that was funny, but How can you woodbend? I have never heard of it?" Katara asked, wondering if Aang could learn to do that as well. Apparently, the Avatar was thinking along the same lines since he stood up.
"Yeh, that was awesome. Can you teach me that?" Aang asked excitedly, looking at the blonde in front of him.
"I'm afraid that can't be taught to anyone," Naruto informed them, much to the displeasure of Aang and Katara.
On the other hand, Sokka stood up and pointed an accusing finger.
"How do you know that?" He asked with his arms spread, walking closer to Naruto, who didn't seem fazed by his poor attempt at intimidating him.
"My people have existed since a long time ago, for thousands of years, my people were hidden from the world," Naruto informed them before his whole body turned at Aang.
"The Avatar has been the only one to know about the existence of my people. No one else, my people tried, but none of the Avatars was ever able to Woodbend," Naruto stated.
Aang slightly lowered his head since he thought that learning Woodbending would help him fix the world he had failed.
"Wait, do you mean there are others like you, and if you stayed hidden, why did you tell Katara and me that information?" Sokka asked; he slightly understood not wanting to interact with the world, especially with a War going on, but why did Naruto tell them of who he was.
At the question, Naruto's bright smile disappeared, his face slowly darkened; for a split second, the group could swear Naruto's eyes turned red, but they were blue again the next second.
"M-my people all are gone,"
A silence fell around the room, drowning them in sorrow; the tension grew so much that one could cut with a knife.
Aang felt terrible; he wondered what had happened and understood him.
He walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "I understand; I recently found out that all of my people were gone," Aang stated with a smile despite feeling a pit on his stomach.
Katara smiled at Aang; she hadn't seen this side of Aang yet.
"He's right; we can be your friends," Sokka suddenly asked, his arms on his knees.
"Thank You, Guys," Naruto thanked them as he gestured for them to eat before the food got cold.
While they were eating, Aang noticed Naruto avoided the questions directed at him about what happened to his people, and they didn't push on the matter.
Soon Naruto brightened up to them again; Katara wondered how someone could go from sadness and anger to smiling and laughing so fast.
"Do you want to come with us?" Aang suddenly asked, eating some bread followed by honey and milk.
"I would want to, but what about your little group?" Naruto asked since he didn't want to come with them if they felt uncomfortable with him.
"I'm fine with him, the more, the merrier," Sokka stated with a shrug of his shoulder; in his mind, they had more chances with him around, not mentioning Naruto could be good at fighting the likes of Zuko.
Katara just smiled and nodded in agreement; even Momo suddenly landed on Naruto's shoulder.
"See, even Momo wants you to come with us," Aang pointed it out with a finger at Momo.
Naruto rubbed his little head; the little flying Lemur seemed to like the attention from the blonde.
"Very well, I'm coming with you then," Naruto answered, smiling.
They all seemed happy about that; Naruto warned Aang to be careful outside; the girls here are wild and stated that he could help him with a few things.
Aang asked what he meant, but Naruto said nothing else.
Soon they started talking about various things, but the discussion soon came about the warriors of Kyoshi because of Sokka.
Sokka started mumbling about the girls not fighting fair against him.
"Sneak attacks don't count!" Sokka yelled, trying to regain any ounce of his pride that he had left. "Tie me up with ropes, and I'll show them a thing or two," he mumbles as he walks towards the door before turning around and grabbing some food.
"I'm not scared of any girls. Who do they think they are anyway?" Sokka grumbles before walking out of the building.
"That can't be Good," Naruto mumbled, seeing him walking away.
Sokka soon reached a small house; inside were the Kyoshi warriors training, Suki in front showing the moves to the other girls.
"Sorry, ladies. Didn't mean to interrupt your dance lesson," Sokka said with a puff of his chest and overconfident tone.
"I was just looking for somewhere to get a little workout," Sokka continued while stretching. Suki was about to kick him out before an idea came to mind.
"Well, you're in the right place," Suki said before looking over to Sokka.
"Sorry about yesterday; I didn't know you were friends with the avatar," Suki said, never taking her eyes off Sokka.
"It's all right. I mean, normally, I'd hold a grudge, but seeing as you guys are a bunch of girls, I'll make an exception," Sokka said, not realizing Suki was toying with him.
"I should hope so. A big strong man like you, we wouldn't stand a chance," Suki sneered.
"True, but don't feel bad. After all, I am the best warrior in my village," Sokka said, spreading his arms and trying to look bigger.
"Wow. Best warrior, huh? In your whole village? Maybe you'd be kind enough to give us a little demonstration," Suki proposed.
"Oh, well, I mean, I-" Sokka mumbled.
"Come on, girls, wouldn't you like to see him show us some moves?" Suki asked, which the rest of the girls agreed to.
"Well, if that's what you want, I'd be happy to," He said before stepping forward onto the mat. "Alright, you stand over there," he said to Suki before continuing. "Now, this may be a little tough, but try to block me," Sokka said slowly as if he was talking to a child.
Sokka then goes for a punch as Suki easily pushes him back by quickly hitting him in the shoulder. "G-good. Of course, I was going easy on you," Sokka says, surprised at Suki.
"Of course," Suki said with a smirk.
"Let's see if you can handle this!" Sokka yelled as he went for a reckless kick leaving him open as Suki flipped him backward onto his butt.
"That does it!" Sokka yelled before charging at Suki, only to get swung around before getting his arm and leg tied together by his own belt. He hops on one foot before falling on his face.
"Anything else you want to teach us?" Suki asks, causing all the girls to laugh. Eventually, Sokka is able to get himself up before leaving the building.
Aang
The swarm of girls did, in fact, turn out to be exactly what Naruto had warned. Fangirls, and a lot of them too.
The second the young Avatar stepped out of the main hut, he found himself swarmed by the girls who couldn't be older than ten.
Naruto and Katara watched as the boy struck up conversations with the giggling girls before they were lost on the horizon. Naruto glanced at the young water bender. "So... What do we do now? Sokka's gone missing in search of those girls, and now Aang has a fan club."
Katara sighed, "I'm going to get supplies. We can't stay here forever; we have to get to the North Pole so Aang and I can master water bending."
Naruto nodded, "I'll meet you at the market. I'm going to go check up on Appa."
Naruto still couldn't believe he would meet a flying bison; of course, he had read about them but never actually saw one himself; he remembered his great Grandfather telling tales of Avatar Kyoshi, and even very old stories of Avatar Yangchen, she had apparently met with his great-great Grandfather, he taught her many things.
Naruto escaped his thoughts when he saw who he assumed was Appa.
Apparently, they weren't the only ones getting the royal Avatar treatment. Naruto found Appa lounging on his side, munching the large bale of hay that he had provided. His horns were gleaming, showing they had just been polished with the utmost care.
"Hey, you must be Appa," Naruto greeted one of the last parts of Aang's. Appa grunted a greeting as he continued to chew. Naruto grabbed an apple from the storage and gave it to the sky bison, who growled in appreciation.
Naruto sat on one of his six feet, petting the bison on the snout. Momo had left to explore the village, knowing the white-furred Lemur.
Naruto decided to head back to the market to find Katara; he met her halfway, carrying two pots of dried fruit and meat. Naruto took one of them without a word. As they walked back to the hut, they had small talk. Naruto was interested in Katara's life before finding Aang.
Katara warmly reminisced about her childhood in the Southern Water Tribe, as well as all the trouble Sokka got in when he tried to prove to his father and the other warriors about how much of a man he was.
The end result was the six-year-old boy being buried neck-deep in the snow with penguins pecking at his hair.
While Naruto was laughing at the image, Katara finally asked something she had been wondering for a long time, ever since she had met Naruto.
"Naruto... Where are you from? I mean, were you raised here?"
Katara could tell Naruto was upset even if he didn't show it. The reason?
Seeing the boy sulking in the corner even worse than her brother had before, Katara decided to take matters into her own hands.
"Come on, Naruto, we can practice bending together. We can show each other our moves, and maybe we can make some up. While water and wood are different elements, their forms are slightly similar, and maybe the culture shock will help us." She encouraged the sulking boy.
Naruto perked up at this; even if he couldn't teach the Avatar anything right now, what was the problem with learning with Katara? They were both benders; even if they were different elements, luckily, their elements were slightly similar than, say, fire and water or earth and air.
Naruto had even read about people in the woods controlling wood by controlling the water inside them.
He wondered how far water bending could go?
Soon they reached a place good enough; Katara started asking how much wood he could grow and bend.
"Sadly, I still can't do much, growing a house made of wood, and I fall unconscious, and I can only grow a bit of wood in water. Therefore I will need to be close to the ground to be helpful," Naruto stated and started growing a small tree close to them.
Katara decided to try and help, and she started bending water from her skin bag after showing it to Naruto.
Naruto grinned, "Alright! Let's try..." The boy stopped when he heard something off deep in the woods. He unknowingly got out of his kata form and instead tilted his head slightly in the direction of the odd noise.
Katara got out of her kata form as well; seeing as her hearing wasn't as good as the young Woodbender's, she didn't understand why he had suddenly broken off. "Naruto?"
"Shhh," Naruto held up a finger for silence. His eyes clenched in concentration; he could faintly hear the faint screech of something he had no clue as to what it belonged to. One thing was certain, though; it was getting closer to them. Then the two felt the ground tremble slightly.
"What is that?" Katara whispered in confusion; before Naruto could share his own confusion, the answer was soon revealed to them.
They saw a red and orange blur running down the road, and it was Aang. And the reason for his flight was the pack of rabid girls running after the young preteen Avatar. Their screeches and squeals were revealed to be the odd noise Naruto had heard.
The two watched with large sweat drops as Aang crossed the bridge. The two were near before running back the way he came when he jumped over the group of girls, who merely continued to follow the bald Airbender, their arms waving as though they were trying to grab him.
Once Aang had realized that they were still following him, he headed back to the bridge but immediately stopped in the middle when another group of fangirls appeared. The young Avatar suddenly found himself surrounded.
Luckily for Aang and unfortunately for the fangirls, Aang had enough sense to jump ten feet in the air and held a ball of condensed air in his arms to keep him hovering well above the young girls reach.
But Aang quickly realized that his ball of air was getting slower and smaller before it disappeared altogether. He fell into the swarm of fangirls, who, having now caught him, didn't seem to want to give him up.
Naruto and Katara merely stood on the riverbank, watching Aang try and free himself from the iron grip of the seven and ten-year-olds but to no success. After a minute or so of watching Aang's failed attempts to escape, Naruto turned to Katara, "should we help him?"
Katara pretended to ponder the possibilities, all the while listening to Aang's protests and the giggles of the fangirls. After a minute or so, she finally said, "Aang is the almighty Avatar." She said with a smug smile to an equally smug Naruto. "Surely, the master of all four elements can handle his own fan club."
With that said, the happy waterbender turned her back to the still captured Aang and walked back in the direction of the town, Naruto following her. The protests of their friend fell on deaf ears.
