Chapter 242: Truth
Having his ear twisted to the very limits of the elasticity of his flesh and being surrounded by not only his family but also friends... no, still acquaintances, to be fair, and a dragon, no less, is not Zuko's ideal welcoming party after glancing beyond the curtains of fire to barely understanding its essence.
"Zuko!" Ursa scolds with a very stern expression, "You said it would take a day, and now what is this about Dragons?!"
Scowling and having his torso bend down a bit to avoid further pain from his twisted left ear, Zuko is quick to throw the true culprit of this mess in front of his aggravated mother. She is already mauling him during the night so might as well direct her anxiousness during the day onto him, too.
"Mom, it was Nik!" Zuko explains as the identified youth still pats and strokes the middle of Ignit's head to stop her from blasting out massive curtains of fire from her mouth after Sokka decided to greet her with a boomerang.
The Boomerang survived.
"What do you mean?" Ursa frowns while throwing Nik a glance as Zuko explains, "He wanted to fight dragons. I was the support."
"You two fought dragons?" Azula sneers, "I've had to stay in Ba Sing Se with these three—" Remembering that holding insulting comments is better than apologizing for them constantly, she exhales shortly and completes, "I had to visit stores after stores with Ty Lee and Jin. I watched them buy NOTHING."
Ty Lee and Jin glance at each other and grin. Yesterday was great for them.
But equally furious Mai, who had to deal with the same thing as Azula cares neither for feelings nor the resulting need for apologies as she gives the unfiltered truth, "In essence, Azula and I wasted our time on two penniless woman wasting other store owners' time. We could have trained or better yet... rested away from Ty Lee describing every shade of my aura."
"It was all the shades of grey," Ty Lee smiles widely and looks at Ignit curiously.
"We did fight dragons!" Zuko claims, "Ask Uncle. He knows Dragons exist."
"Hmm... yes, they do. In our hearts," Iroh nods gently, "A dragon resides in each one of us."
"That!" Pointing at Ignit, Zuko groans exasperatedly, "is a dragon! What's that metaphorical bullshit?"
"Young man, what is with that language?!"
When on the verge of tears as Ursa's fingers twisted his ear tighter. When all the pride and honor of duking it out with dragons almost evaporated from his being, Nik calls out, "Alright, we did... learn from dragons. They didn't want to kill Zuko so he was fine the entire time. They wanted to kill me, and then Ignit. But if it wasn't for Zuko and Ignit... well, I would have to run away."
Letting go of Zuko, the furious mother hisses, "Wasn't this a calming trip? How is a battle with mythical creatures supposed to be calming."
"Actually..." Iroh coughs, "Dragons are as intelligent as us and more spiritually aligned. So... in the right circumstances, it can be very calm. Meeting them, that is."
"I thought dragons are in our hearts," Zuko rubs his ear and mutters sourly.
"For me, technically, yes. I swore a few things here and there, Zuko. And while we are on the subject of technical issues... I would like you all to meet a special guest of mine who will arrive tomorrow..."
"So?" Ursa cuts in and looks at Nik, "Is that true? Really? You two did think fighting Dragons of all the beings in the world is a great idea?"
"Well... Dragons were the second choice. Nik here wanted to challenge—" Zuko grumbles under his breath when Nik cuts him off mid-sentence, "Dude!"
"Oh, right," Zuko clears his throat, "We saw a strange flower. We... uh, yeah, we liked watching flowers."
"Mother, I'm telling you now once more," Azula narrows her eyes, "Do check Zuko's knees later for any... scrapes or redness."
"Why?" Zuko looks confused, "We had a duel with dragons based on firebending. Actually... I think I'm a better firebender than you now."
"Excuse me?" Azula raises her brow.
"He's speaking the truth," Nik supplants.
Not the one to doubt Nik's words easily and annoyed by the claim that Zuko got a dragon's egg, no less, Azula shoots Ty Lee a cold glare, "Look what spending a day with you made me lose!"
"Don't be so angry now Azula, all your aura is getting so exhausting," The acrobat shrugs but ignoring their squabble, Nik steps forward and holds Ursa's hand, "I... I want you to know that this trip was safe for Zuko. I won't lie. It was risky for me. But Zuko was safe."
Ursa huffs but Nik wasn't done yet, "I also want to talk to you guys. It's better if I do it more privately this time. So... let's go back. Iroh, do you want to join us?" Nik looks at the man who is juggling the responsibilities of Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation at the moment.
"Haha, no," Iroh chuckles, "If my assumption is right... this conversation would be harder than the tale of a duel with the dragons. I will wait here with a pot of tea so that you may share this tale of yours later."
Nik nods and he signals others to return to his personal space including Ignit this time who easily found herself at home around the Dragon Spring where Zuko's Dragon Egg is also placed.
But, when it finally came to Ty Lee's turn, Nik smiles, "Sorry, Ty Lee... this is a more private conversation. You can hang out with Suki and others since they already know this but..."
"Come on," more than willing to use her charm to persuade the Plunderer, Ty Lee leans forward with an adorable grin, "I won't judge whatever weird thing you have to admit. It can't get any weirder, right?"
"It can... it does," Nik snickers and then sighs when he thinks about the conversation ahead, "Maybe when we visit fire nation and maybe when I meet your family and stuff... maybe I will be ready to tell you then."
"So... it's THAT kind of privacy," Ty Lee pouts, "Isn't that too obvious of a move? I am flattered and I also did have a blast with the girls yesterday but... after everything that has happened recently, I just feel that we should give it some time..."
"Oh, I know," Nik shrugs and disappears, leaving Ty Lee with her lips hanging open.
With only her and Iroh left in the palace garden, the contortionist looks at the calm uncle and pouts, "Why didn't he push a bit more? It's not like his usual self..."
"And that should indicate how important this matter is to him," Iroh smiles kindly, "Sometimes, the hardest decisions are made between the easiest choices. I am sure Nik understands how you feel but he also has responsibilities that he willingly accepted. And if you have nothing to do, how about accompanying this old man for a pot of tea? For his vices... my late brother did hoard some great tea leaves."
Ty Lee sighs and walks with her shoulders slumped, "I guess if it helps you... someone's got to feel cheerful, right? Everyone in the circus is happy to have me around and I'm sure you would too."
Iroh chuckles in the face of such confidence as they soon find their seats on the outdoor furniture. After a while, Iroh questions, "Are you feeling nervous? You all are due to leave the day after tomorrow, right?"
Perking up, Ty Lee rolls her eyes, "Not nervous... well, maybe a little. It's been two years since I joined the circus and last saw my sisters."
"Ah, yes, those girls," Iroh strokes his beard while happily brewing a pot of tea, "I'm sure they are looking forward to meeting you..."
"I hope so..." Ty Lee's gaze blanks out for a while before she lowers her head in a rare moment of complicated emotions flickering in her gaze.
"Say, Uncle. Who's your special guest?" Ty Lee suddenly questions.
"Well..." Awkwardly scratching his cheek and coughing, Iroh reveals a distinctly similarly complicated look that Ty Lee had a few moments ago and he sighs, "I would like to say that he is a close relative but... we'll know if that's true or not tomorrow."
---
"Alright, what is with the secrecy?" Azula frowns as she, Ursa, and Zuko sit across Nik in Ursa's and Azula's shared room. "Did you two really do something weird on this trip?" She questions the two men in the room.
"It's not even funny so why bother repeating the same thing?" Zuko scoffs and then smirks, "But maybe that's an indication of how bland your life has gotten. Oh, did you duel with dragons and win a dragon's egg?"
Both of them lock their glares while Ursa resists the urge to massage her forehead.
"I'm bound to leave," Nik suddenly speaks up as he takes a deep breath.
"Please listen to what I have to say. Katara, Suki, Mai, Toph, Michi, Poppy, and Yue already know about this. And this will sound weird... but there is a reason why I can bend the four elements, make things 'disappear' and 'reappear'. By the way, Zuko, that's now how this ability works. I'll explain shortly."
Nik had already decided to not stall this any further because there is no need to. Heck, even Katara and Sokka found their mother somehow! He needs to be clear and concise. He needs to steel himself for anyone who might not want to stay with him.
While he does have the ability to actually influence others... it's never to build relationships. It's not because he thinks he won't be any better than Ukano or Ozai if he uses [Twilight Thief] because he understands he is no better.
He is as greedy and hypocritical a person can get.
But...
He's simply not into hypnotize slaves. That's not his interest. It's as simple as this and his life needs to be this simple!
So, leaving aside the horrible stuff from his previous life, he dives straight into the world traveling stuff, how he came here and met Mokshi, and how he would like, nay, aspire to travel other worlds eventually. He did not leave out the part about the spirits targeting him and how Koh almost managed to pull a fast one on him. This showed how his relationship with other spirits is not truly firm but based on their leniency.
This leniency will expire eventually.
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Alternate Title: Window Shopping— Azula's True Weakness; Ty Lee Can't Get Into Everything; There is a Dragon in our Hearts— Respectfully, Iroh
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A/N: I know I shouldn't but I can't help but wonder what if someone from the harem rejects to travel with Nik and leaves him.
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