Sikumi had been at it for a while now. After finding out that Tadashi had given away so much just to get a simple scroll she felt guilty and proceeded to start practicing straight away. Fortunately for her some of the initial moves were kata's she had seen others perform so imitating their movements almost seemed natural. In fact by the time Aki and Tadashi had come to check up on her she had forgotten all about her guilt and was moving about the water with relative ease. Of course she was no master, there was still sloppy movement here and there but compared to the first time she had tried there was a great improvement.

"Nice." Tadashi said after Sikumi performed a rather complicated move that transferred water around her body in a defensive fashion.

Sikumi almost hopped about in excitement when she turned to the two, receiving an approving nod from Aki.

"I never knew how free bending could be." Sikumi exclaimed, surrounding her hands with more water and throwing it into the air.

"Welcome to the club," Aki smirked, "But can you use it in battle."

When Sikumi heard this she dropped the water, soaking herself in shock. The brightness in her eyes also dimmed as she imagined herself attacking another person.

"I don't think I could," she shook her head.

"I thought so," Tadashi interjected, "but if you can focus on that ice technique and defensive bending then things will be fine, I mean not everyone needs to be so offensive right?"

"Uh….yea sure," Aki frowned, "I just thought it'd be nice to have someone else out there who can watch my back other than our esteemed director."

"Ouch, that hurt." Tadashi pouted, turning away from the two females.

"Are you two always like this?" Sikumi chuckled whist Aki smirked again. "I would have thought a prince would….I don't know demand more respect."

There was a brief moment of silence as Aki gave Sikumi a pitiful look, knowing where the water tribe girl was coming from.

"Yes I am a prince," Tadashi sighed as he explained, "but there's no fun in being so formal with everyone. I'd rather lie down in the dirt with my comrades than have people do it for me."

Tadashi turned to face Sikumi, giving her a pained but soft smile.

"I'm not my father, nor am I my brother and definitely not my uncle. Sometimes I feel like I'm just too different from everyone else."

"So?"

Tadashi looked up, genuinely shocked to hear Sikumi say that so casually.

"Sure you may be different from the others in your family, but that doesn't mean you don't need to act differently…..right?" she exclaimed, looking to Aki for encouragement.

"She's right, but there's also something you don't understand yourself." Aki told Sikumi, "We've been working together for about two years now. In order to work more efficiently there are certain privileges that need to be dropped and sacrifices to be made."

"Exactly," Tadashi said, "plus I like hanging out with these people, despite how stiff some may be regarding relationship advice."

The young boy nudged Aki playfully as he finished speaking, inciting a chuckle from Sikumi who started to understand just how Tadashi worked.

"I look forward to working beside you in the future," Sikumi suddenly said aloud, putting her hand up in a salute.

"As if we haven't been doing so already," Tadashi laughed.

Sikumi genuinely felt glad that Tadashi and Aki had accepted her so readily, even if they were Fire Nation. However she couldn't help but feel a sense of unease coming from the boy, as if everything he would do and say was for someone else's sake. In her mind she wanted to question just why they hadn't just dumped her off at the nearest port on their journey but her heart said otherwise. In the short time she had been with these people she had more and more questions about them. Aki was certainly a capable person but she'd always seem so busy. The same could be said for Tadashi who spent all his time training or working. In fact the only time he seemed to be relaxed was when he had been testing out Sikumi's ice powers and even then that was taxing on their minds and bodies.

What puzzled her even more so was that the small crew, who claimed to be pirates, were mostly fire nation, with only two of its members being Earth Kingdom citizens. After finding out that Tadashi was a royal she didn't know what to think. One problem was to be taken in by pirates, her initial thoughts led her to image she'd be forced to raid with a crew of swashbuckling men but it became even more confusing when these pirates were Fire Nation in disguise, led by a royal to boot. Who exactly were they? Why were they in disguise? Sikumi, although having lived a relaxed lifestyle, was still aware of the ongoing problems with the world. She knew that her people were risking their lives whenever trading with the Fire Nation or Earth Kingdom militaries but they did so anyway. So how did she managed to get tangled up with these strange people? In her heart she just hoped they wouldn't hurt the innocent. As long as that remained true she could summon the courage to defend the people in front of her and heal them, even if it meant aiding the Fire Nation.

"That reminds me," Tadashi prodded Aki, "We need to get Sikumi fitted out with some gear, probably with some pouches to store water in."

"Agreed," Aki turned to face a door leading inside the ship, "Let's go Sikumi."

"Uh….ok," she agreed nervously, following Aki into the bowels of the ship.

As Tadashi was left alone he allowed his body to soak up as much energy from the sun as possible. The moments where he could enjoy the sun's rays and listen to world around him were pure bliss, but he'd always think of Azula during these moments, then he'd feel guilty about it. Tadashi didn't know if he feared or hated his father, in fact he wanted nothing more than to hear words of praise from him, but none of that mattered if Azula hated him. These past two years, having not returned home once or been summoned. He really wanted to talk to her again, see what she'd been up to and how her fire bending had progressed.

"Um…sir?" one of the crew members, his eyes indicating his Earth Kingdom origin, interrupted Tadashi.

"Wha? Oh, what is it?" Tadashi asked, turning away out of embarrassment.

The crew member almost rolled his eyes at the young boy, before remember just why he had interrupted him in the first place.

"I just saw Prince Zuko and your Uncle, as well as the pirates you dealt with earlier."

"Oh?" Tadashi quickly turned around, "And what are they doing?"

"From what I heard they are after the Avatar."

Tadashi slightly paled. He knew that now was the best time to consider capturing the Avatar but with his brother here he couldn't just openly act. Not to mention he wanted to avoid a conflict if possible, but with pirates in the mix things would certainly not easy. The boy sighed, knowing that whatever happens will change his plans anyway.

"OK, I want you to get Ak….never mind just tell the other's to get ready and meet me here in 10 minutes." Tadashi ordered, remembering that the captain would be giving Suki a fresh set of clothing about now.

As the Earthbender left to follow Tadashi's orders the boy couldn't help but shiver. He hadn't seen his brother in two years and they'd finally meet again. Just the thought made him more nauseous than setting foot on a boat had ever affected him. By the time Aki had returned with Sikumi the young boy found it hard to stand straight, holding on to the ships sides for support.

"Tadahsi, what's wrong?" Aki asked, running up to help Tadashi up.

Instinctively Sikumi brought out a ball of water and checked over Tadashi, relieved but surprised to find out that he was not injured. Giving the young director an inquisitive look, Tadashi gave her a strained smile before collapsing completely.

By the time he had woken up the team was ready to depart. Luckily only half an hour had passed and Aki, having heard the news, ordered someone to follow their trail. Sikumi had stayed next to the young boy, sensing a wave of unease emanating from his body. Although she couldn't heal him she hoped that her waterbending could at least wash away the physical impact he was feeling.

"Oh, you're awake!" she said, catching the attention of Aki and the nearby officers.

Looking carefully he could see that they were all armed and wore worried faces. The thought gave him enough strength to stand up on his own as he rejected Aki's hand for help. The captain, not one to linger to long on any particular thought, ignored the boys' bravado and gave him a sceptical look.

"Sikumi said you didn't come down with any illness, our doctor confirmed it too." She said, nodding to the medical officer on board who gave Tadashi a small nod.

"Is this about…..him?" she asked.

"Him?" Sikumi repeated.

"She means Zuko," Tadashi confirmed, watching the girl to see her react to that name.

Fortunately she didn't seem to recognise the name and asked another question instead.

"Who's he?"

"My brother."

"Zuko is the crown Prince of the Fire Nation," Aki explained, "He's currently hunting the Avatar in order to gain acceptance from his father and return to the Fire Nation."

"Oh, I see." Sikumi's glum expression was to be expected.

Tadashi didn't want to see his subordinates give him looks of sympathy so he got up, despite Sikumi's fretting, and stretched his body as if he was raring to go.

"Look, there is nothing to worry about, just some nerves that got to me."

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Aki gave Tadashi a sceptical look whilst Sikumi seemed unsure what to say. The boy sighed, knowing that idling about would lead to nothing.

"There's really no point in worrying about me, I'm fine now." He reassured the two, motioning to the doctor that he didn't need to stay anymore. "More importantly where's my armour?"

Because of the nature of their mission the group couldn't pose as pirates and instead wore standard Fire Nation army, including the iconic white masks that villagers feared. Of course for this to work the ship was moved to a more remote location where they could disembark without any nosey citizens watching them. Although Tadashi had reservations about his height, most soldiers being a head taller than him, but it still wasn't uncommon to see shorter enlisted soldiers, the standard age for Fire Nation troops beginning at 16.

The lead team would consist of Tadashi, Aki, another Firebender and one Earthbender, whilst the second team would be Sikumi and a Firebender. Knowing it was a big gamble to bring Sikumi along so early Tadashi gave the firebender strict instructions to not leave her alone under any circumstances. They formed up under the guise that the Firebender in the lead group was the captain of the troop as it was likely that the pirates would recognise both Tadashi's and Aki's voices. It was also important that he didn't stand out too much, both to avoid unnecessary questioning and for reasons he didn't want to admit yet.

With that in mind they set off immediately, the trip took them back through the town and into the woods, following a stream as well as marks left by an agent sent ahead. By the time they caught up to the other firebender, already in his armour, it was already late into the night and the two groups were interrogating the water tribe girl.

Tadashi noticed the two ships that were there, cursing that they must have arrived hours ago and that he should have thought of sailing too. He tapped the Earthbenders shoulder and leaned towards him.

"Sorry, but can you run back to the ship and have them bring it closer? You don't need to rush." He asked quietly, knowing that everyone was tired from the long walk.

The Earthbender gave an over exaggerated sigh but smiled and nodded to the boy, turning tail and going back at a brisk jog. Sikumi and her escort were a few paces behind but in the night they were hardly visible and with the new red armour she had been given only someone who studied her close up would realise that she was a waterbender.

Tadashi had had an eventful day but for Oh the pirate it had been terrible. First he'd been shouted at for bringing in pirates more troublesome than they were on to the boat, then he had been made to chase after the water tribe children and the monk only to return empty handed and bruised. Now he had been made to go on this expedition for a prize that he had personally made, an item that honestly wasn't worth a silver piece. Things went worse when he noticed a group of solders approaching them from the darkness.

"Why me?" he said to himself, quickly moving towards his captain.

"Boss, we got company." He said, gaining the attention of everyone who was standing around Katara.

"What now?" Zuko sneered, "It'd better be-"

The banished prince froze. He didn't expect another company of Fire Nation soldiers to approach. His mind instantly racing to find out who had sent them. Zhao? His father? Someone else? Suddenly the thought of losing his chance of capturing the Avatar echoed about in his mind, the fear settling and corroding any rational thoughts he might have had. Fortunately when the pirate captain spoke his spiralling thoughts stopped and he came back to his senses.

"What are you doing here?" he asked. "Are they yours?"

The captain turned to face Zuko whose gaze indicated that he wanted to ask the same question.

"No, they're not." Zuko simply stated.

Zuko noted as one of the masked Firebenders approached, did a respectful bow towards him and without facing the captain begun to talk.

"I am Captain Koha from the backup and support division, we saw a Fire Nation squad that we thought needed assistance and came to offer our help."

"On who's order was that?" Iroh suddenly stepped in, giving the masked soldiers in front of them an inquisitive look.

"General Shinu did, sir." He quickly replied.

Tadashi couldn't help but shuffle about nervously, feeling cold under the white mask of the suit he wore. Iroh turned to face him for a moment, raising his eyebrow ever so slightly but in the end giving the group a wry smile.

"Well we appreciate the help," he said, much to Tadashi's relief.

The young boy had barely kept his wits about him, desperately trying to control his nerves with quick but deep breaths. Luckily due to the nature of his armour no one noticed.

Katara, who had been stuck there the whole time, tugged the ropes holder her to a tree but to no avail. She sighed, hoping that Aang or her brother wouldn't get caught for her foolishness.

"Anyway, enough distractions!" Zuko shouted, turning to face Katara. "Tell me where he is and I won't hurt you or your brother!"

"Go jump in the river!" Katara replied as everyone mentally sighed in frustration.

"Try to understand. I need to capture him to restore something I've lost, my honour." Zuko leant in closer, enough to make her uncomfortable. "Perhaps in exchange I can restore something you've lost."

He held a blue Water Tribe necklace in the air, clearly shocking the girl.

"My mother's necklace! How did you get that?" Katara gasped, pulling at her ropes again.

"I didn't steal it, if that's what you're wondering. Tell me where he is!" Zuko demanded.

"No!"

"Enough of this necklace garbage! You promised a scroll!" the captain interrupted the two, stepping forwards in anger.

"I wonder how much this is worth..." Zuko sneered, holding the scroll over a flame he produced.

"Not much…." Aki murmured to no one in particular, but found it amusing as the Pirates gasped at Zuko's actions.

"A lot, apparently. Now you help me find what I want, you'll get this back, and everyone goes home happy. Search the woods for the boy and meet back here!"

"Fine." The captain said, his eyes wavering with anger.

He made a quick motion to his men who started walking off, further up along the river. Zuko sighed, stifling a yawn and moved to go and talk to his uncle. The others stood about awkwardly, as no one had officially ordered them to do anything yet. Iroh, having picked up their dilemma, nodded.

"Perhaps it'd be best if you monitor the perimeter."

The way he said it seemed to suggest that both Tadashi's group and Zuko's men should follow his instructions. As everyone walked off in a seemingly random direction Tadashi doubled back to where Sikumi was waiting.

"See if the water tribe girl is ok, loosen her bonds but not completely."

"Are you sure?" Sikumi asked, wondering why he was helping her and not his brother.

"Yes, I'll explain properly when we're back on the ship."

Sikumi simply nodded and walked towards Kataras' position, every now and then stopping to not look too suspicious, although Tadashi felt it looked too forced for his liking. By the time she reached Katara the bounded girl wore a tired yet fierce expression.

"My uncle gave me the mark of the Kind when we went ice dodging." She said under her breath, catching Katara completely off-guard.

"What…?" was all she could muster.

Sikumi slid her faceplate off slightly, revealing her blue eyes, which were visible from the moon light.

"But…..you're….with…why?" Katara almost looked heartbroken as she tried to form a sentence, the confusion still wrapping her mind in endless thoughts.

"I'm here to help you, I'm in disguise." Sikumi muttered, her speech quickly slipping into a tongue that only the Water Tribe could recognise.

It was an old and ancient language that the adults used for ceremonies but Katara recognised it instantly and responded as if it was second nature.

"Whose side are you on?" Katara immediately asked.

"I don't know," Sikumi responded, feeling guilty that she was lying. "Look, I'll loosen your bonds but you can't escape just yet or they'll suspect us too quickly."

"So, you're with the Fire Nation?" Katara glared.

"What? No! We're all undercover, there are Earthbenders here too." Sikumi responded, this time telling a half-truth, the only Earthbender having retreated a while ago.

"Fine, I'll believe you," Katara responded in the common language, "But thanks."

Without saying another word Sikumi quickly took some water, barely enough to see in the moonlight and slashed the ropes in such a way that no one could tell it had been tampered with. Just as Sikumi was about to leave Katara called out.

"Wait, are you with that Firebender that helped us during the winter solstice?" Katara asked.

This time Sikumi really didn't know how to answer, but she figured that anyone that would help these people must be good and if it helped her payback everything Tadashi had done for her she'd go along with it.

"Yes."