Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or the Last Airbender.

Warning: Azula will be a year younger than Zuko in this story.

Bodyguard of Azula

Chapter 1: Shipwrecked and Water Tribe

"Talking"

"Thinking"

"Bijū/spirit talking"

"Bijū/spirit thinking"

(Location: Konoha Council room)

"Naruto Uzumaki, because of your crimes against Sasuke Uchiha, you are banished from Konoha." Tsunade said looking down at the blonde shinobi. The civilian council and Shinobi council also looked down at him. "You will be thrown into jail until the Fire Daimyo arrives in five days. Once he does, your chakra will be sealed, and you will never be allowed to return to the village unless we order you to come back." She looked at the ANBU in the room, standing to the back of the walls, not saying a word. "ANBU, take him to the jail."

Both the civilian council and Shinobi council watched Naruto being led away. They had expected him to protest that it wasn't his fault or ask why the Hokage was doing this in a loud voice. But all Naruto did was stand in the middle of the room, he did not react when his punishment was given and he walked calmly out of the room while being led by the ANBU. While the civilians were celebrating, the shinobi looked at each other, they all felt that something was wrong but they just did not know what it was.

Naruto sat on the poor excuse for a bed, feeling the lumps that would've made someone who tried to sleep on it very uncomfortable. "That went as expected." He said. He showed no emotion during the so-called trial because he knew what was going to happen long before that.

"Yes, it did. Are you still going to leave?" The Bijū inside of him asked.

"Is that a rhetorical question, Kyūbi?" He asked back with a blank expression on his face. Ever since he found out what would happen to him, he tried to keep his emotion clamped down tight (so far it was working quite well).

The fox smirked. "Fair enough, gaki. Let me rephrase that. When are you going to leave?"

The blonde looked out the tiny window in his cell, installed in the wall to his left. "Soon enough," He answered as he looked at the night sky beyond the barred window.

Tsunade watched the sun go down from the window in the Hokage's office. As Shizune came through the door, Tsunade turned to her. "Is everything ready?" She asked her apprentice, who nodded in answer. She got out of the Hoakge's chair. "Let's go get Naruto." She said as she made her way to the door of the office, opening it and walking through it before closing it behind her.

As the two of them walked down to the jail, Tsunade remembered how after Naruto came back with Sasuke, the civilian council had all but exploded at the sight of the Uchiha and demanded Naruto's execution. She, along with Jiraiya and the Shinobi council tried to figure out a way to stop that from happening. That was when the elders came up with a plan: Naruto would be banished. But they would wait for the Fire Daimyo to come to Konoha to banish him, as to make it look official. However, what would really happen was Naruto would be secretly smuggled out of Konoha and given to Jiraiya, who would then train him for as long as he could, until Konoha needed him again. The idea was told to the Hokage, Jiraiya, and the Shinobi council (the civilian council only knew of the banishment part, which made them happy enough). Seeing that it was the best idea that was voice, they all agreed to it. Once Naruto was out of the village and safely with Jiraiya, the real information of what actually happened would be secretly given to the Daimyo and the lands that Konoha were allied with (especially Suna, because of Gaara). Naruto's teammates would be told once it came close for the blonde to return. But first they had to get him out. The first step began tonight.

As Tsunade and Shizune entered the room with Naruto's cell, she motioned the guard (who was actually an ANBU agent who had informed of what would happen) to leave. As the guard nodded in acknowledgment and silently left the room, she walked to the cell and pulled out the key needed for the gate. "Naruto," She called, making Naruto, who had been looking out the window turn to face her. "We're getting you out of here." She opened the gate to the cell, having been freshly oiled and free of rust, it didn't make a sound. She motioned Naruto to come out of the cell, but he stayed where he was. "Come on, Naruto, we don't have much time." Tsunade told him. They had to get him out soon; otherwise, someone was bound to find out.

He stood up from the bed, but he didn't move from that spot. Instead, he threw the Hokage a glare that was a mixture of anger and hurt. "That's where you're wrong, Tsunade." Naruto coldly said as he reached up to the back of his head and began to untie his headband. "You're wrong about the fact of not having much time." The knot that held the headband loosened and fell apart, allowing it to fall into his hand. "You didn't have any time to begin with." He told them, making them bot confused both. In silence, he dropped his headband to the floor, making it crash with a loud noise, and at the same time, disappeared with a POOF!

Shizune could only look at the smoke engulfing the cell. "It was a Kage Bunshin (Shadow Clone)?" She asked, not believing what she saw. Tsunade could only silently nod, as she was just as stunned. "We have to send the ANBU squads out immediately!" Shizune cried, rushing for the door, but was stopped by Tsunade calling her name.

"It wouldn't be any use, we have no idea where he's going or how much of a head start he has." The Hokage told her, her face had a look of both defeat and sadness on it. "Naruto is gone, Shizune. He is gone and we don't know where he's gone to."

(Location: Naruto)

Naruto smiled to himself as he stared out to the sea. When he had brought Sasuke back, he quickly found out that the civilian council wanted him executed. After discovering what Tsunade had been planning to do with him, he decided to take a page out of Orochimaru, Itachi and recently Sasuke's book. He made the choice to sever all connections with Konoha. But he had also knew that just walking out the front gates would not be a good plan (in fact, it was an idiotic plan). So, with some advice from Kyūbi, the day before he was brought before the Hokage, he made a Kage Bunshin, and sent it out as far as he could from Konoha. While he was in the jail cell, Naruto used a Kawarimi (Body Replacement) with the clone, swapping places with it. He then ran as fast he could to the nearest port in the Land of Fire and boarded a ship that was leaving the Elemental Countries. The same ship was now a month at sea and the Elemental Countries were far behind them.

"That was very slick, Naruto." Kyūbi complemented him. The fox always knew that if his Jinchūriki applied himself, the feats that he would be able to achieve would quite impressive (like slipping out of the notice of Konoha and being able to successfully evade them). Of course, he did help the blonde, but he had no doubt that with a little more practice, his Jinchūriki wouldn't need any help.

"I do try to please." Naruto replied, as he kept looking out at the sea. He had never seen it before and was amazed by its beauty. It seemed…tranquil and peaceful. But that was soon forgotten as Naruto saw what appeared to be a dark smudge on the horizon. "Any idea on what that is out there, Kyūbi?" He asked.

"I'm not an expert on what happens at sea gaki; I think you better go find one of the sailors." Kyūbi answered, prompting Naruto to wave over one of the sailors, pointing out to the smudge that was getting bigger. Before he asked his question, the sailor took one look, swore loudly, and told Naruto to get below decks while he warned the captain about the fast approaching storm. The dark smudge on the horizon was rapidly filling the skies, coming towards them like a black fog.

Everyone on the deck scrambled to get below once the captain blew the warning whistle. But by then it was too late. The storm hit the ship and hit it hard. The deck became slippery as the rain pounded down on it. Everything was confusing and chaotic as the rain blinded the eyes and the howling of the winds and waves, as well as the crack of thunder and the flashes of lightning, plugged the ears.

Naruto tried to reach the door that went below deck but he couldn't really see where he was going. It seemed like he was the only person on the deck now. When he thought he found the door, it turned out to be the other side of the ship. And before he could try to find the door, he was swept away by a wave that had crashed onto the ship. The last thing he heard was the fox screaming "Stay awake, Naruto! Stay awa-!" But then he had been knocked unconscious and dragged under the waves.

(Location: Ember Island)

Azula walked along the beach, annoyed with what was going on around her. She had no idea why her father decided to send both her and her brother Zuko, as well as Mai and Ty Lee, with her uncle Iroh to Ember Island for a vacation. It was getting unbearable with Ty Lee being overly cheerful, her uncle doing nothing but drink tea, and Zuko and Mai being awkward around each other. If she stayed there any longer, she would be tempted to set everything on fire (although, with Iroh there, it probably wouldn't get that far).

Unable to say what she felt any other way, she sighed in frustration. Things had changed when her father became the Fire Lord and her mother had disappeared. She had gotten even better at Firebending. Some people were calling her a prodigy. And while she progressed, Zuko floundered around. She was being taught by the best Firebenders that were out there, including her father. She had gained his approval and Zuko, despite being the eldest, did not. But for reasons she didn't really want to say aloud, she resented her brother for always being with their mother. Azula always wanted her mother to show her that she was loved as well. But her mother always paid more attention to Zuko and that had irritated her to no end.

Hearing Ty Lee come up behind her, Azula suppressed a groan that almost came out; she really didn't want to deal with her right now. "Hey, Azula!" called out Ty Lee. "Why are you out…?" Azula looked back at Ty Lee, she had trailed off in talking and if you knew Ty Lee, that didn't happen. Then she noticed that Ty Lee was pointing out to the water.

She looked at where she was pointing and saw that somebody had washed up on shore. She ran over to check on the person, noticing that it was a boy about Zuko's age, maybe a little older. "Ty Lee, go and get my uncle. He's injured." She told Ty Lee, gesturing to the boy who was bleeding from the head.

As Ty Lee ran off, she looked closer at the boy. He had blonde hair, which was uncommon (if not outright rare) in the Bending Countries, and reminded her of the sun. He had a natural tan as well as six strange birthmarks, three on each side of his face, which looked like whiskers. Hearing footsteps on the sand, she turned to saw her uncle coming towards her. When he finally reached her, he knelt to examine the boy. "Azula, go back to the house and get your brother to help you make a bed ready." Iroh said after looking the boy over. She nodded once and ran back to the house.

(Location: Beach House)

Naruto awoke to the sound of waves crashing on the shoreline. As he sat up, he noticed that somebody was sitting next to the bed, an old man who had a friendly look on his face. "Ah you are awake, that is good." The old man said. Naruto looked around to figure out where he was. But all he could figure out was that he was in a house that was near the beach.

"Where…?" He began to say, before a wave of nausea hit him and forced him back down onto the bed. But the old man understood that he had tried to ask "Where am I?"

"You are on Ember Island in my brother's beach house. My name is Iroh." He answered pointing to himself. "What is your name?" He sounded curious, but there was also a tone of caution there as well.

The blonde managed to sit up again. "My name is Naruto." He told the man called Iroh. This time, he wasn't hit by nausea. "How did I get here?" He asked, rubbing the back of his head. "The last thing I remember was being swept into the sea when a storm hit my ship."

Iroh looked at him with a look of understanding. "My niece found you when you washed up on shore, she had me come out to look at you and you managed to get a bad injury on your head." He explained.

Naruto found the injury with his rubbing and winced at the small pain that was still there. "In that case, I think I should thank your niece for saving my life." He replied as he took his hand off of his head.

Iroh smiled. "I will tell her that, in the meantime you should get some rest. I will be back with some tea." He stood up and walked out of the room.

"Nice to see you in the land of the living again, kit." Kyūbi spoke, once he was certain they were alone. "You almost had me worried there."

"How long was I out, Kyūbi?" Naruto asked, being all business. He kept his voice low so he could make sure that no one else could hear him.

"You were out for two days since you washed ashore. We were lucky, that ship was close to this island when the storm struck. If you hadn't drifted to this island during the night, you would have been a dead person." The fox told him. What he didn't say was that he practically ran himself ragged trying to make sure his Jinchūriki hadn't died before then.

"Well, it's a good thing we washed up here then."

"I guess you're right about that. But the question I have gaki, is what are you going to do now?"

As Iroh came back into the room with tea, Naruto finished the conversation silently. "What we are going to do is stay here now."

(Location: Fire Nation Capital, Royal Palace)

Fire Lord Ozai looked at the twelve young men kneeling before him; these men were in the military of the Fire Nation and were some of the best. After Ozai had scarred Zuko and banished him with the impossible task of finding the Avatar, there had been several attempts on his daughter's life by Earth Kingdom assassins. The last attempt would have been successful had a sentry not saw the attack and sounded the alarm. While Azula was recovering, he broke down and did something he never would've thought he would do again: he contacted Iroh, who had gone with Zuko to watch over him, and asked him for his advice. His brother had sent a reply proposing that Azula be given a bodyguard; he had even recommended someone (even though the two of them had only met the year before). Ozai surprisingly agreed with the proposal and immediately looked for the most talented young Firebenders in the military to fill that suggested role.

And now those eleven were right in front of him, the twelfth was Iroh's recommendation and was the only non-Bender in the twelve (he had to be there, since Ozai had agreed with his brother suggestion). While the eleven were fairly well known and respected officers in the army, the twelfth was a common soldier and was often a problem. Disobeying orders, protecting civilians and other nonsense was what he did. But the odd thing was that the soldiers had more respect for him then the other eleven.

"You are all here because you have been given an opportunity." Ozai said from where he sat, looking down on them. "You have the chance of becoming the bodyguard to my daughter, Princess Azula. You will be her voice as well as her shield against all threats to her." The eleven officers looked at him with excitement in their eyes; this was indeed a great opportunity for them. It was the chance to bring more honor and prestige to their families. But the twelfth remained silent. "Now I have decided that there will be a test to decide who will protect Azula."

The Fire Lord continued. "There will be a tournament and the winner will become the bodyguard." The eleven officers nodded in agreement, while the twelfth shook his head. "Do you disagree with this plan, boy?" Ozai asked him with a slightly dangerous tone. There were only a few (a very few) who would dare disagree him.

The twelfth nodded once, looking up. "Yes, Fire Lord Ozai, I do. It's pointless to fight among ourselves. Why don't the twelve of us fight an Agni Kai against Princess Azula herself? That way, we would be able to prove ourselves to her." He suggested.

Ozai thought it over. He was willing to admit that the plan did have its merits. "Very well then, the twelve of you will fight against my daughter in an Agni Kai. It will begin in four hours, now go to the arena and wait." He commanded. The twelve stood up, bowed to Ozai, and left for the stadium. When he was alone, Ozai chuckled to himself. the poor fool Iroh had recommended would not last five minutes against his daughter. She was a Firebending prodigy, while he could not bend at all. It wouldn't be a problem for Azula to beat him, and that was a sight Ozai was looking forward to.

The audience in the stadium buzzed with excitement, Princess Azula would be fighting an Agni Kai against twelve opponents. Such a task had never been done but everyone was absolutely sure that Azula could do it; she was after all a Firebending prodigy. Those who were challenging her would bite the dust. She didn't need a guard and she was going to prove that with this.

The gong sounded, signaling the start of the Agni Kai. Azula rose from her kneeling position and turned to face her opponents. Eleven of them wore the skull-like helmet of a Firebender and by judging their armor, were officers. But the twelfth himself was just a soldier, and not even a Firebender, judging by his conical helmet. As soon as she was done analyzing them, she took her stance and eleven of her opponents took that as the sign to attack her, leaping at her while also bending fire.

It took a combination of tricky maneuvering and exceptional Firebending, but Azula defeated eleven of her opponents and kept trying to fight the last one. But no matter what she did, he would always manage to avoid her attacks. She launched fireball after fireball at him, trying to burn him to a crisp. But all he ever did was step out of the way. After a few more minutes of this Azula looked at her opponent, "Are you just going to stand over there or will you actually to try to fight me?" She asked him angrily. He looked at her for a moment and Azula thought he looked a little familiar.

When she was distracted by that thought, he got in close and began to fight her in close combat, which proved effective. Every time Azula tried to bring in some close combat Firebending, her opponent would always stop her by blocking the limb that was spewing the fire. It was then Azula realized why he did not attack at the beginning of the Agni Kai with the other eleven. He was observing how she fought and where her weak points were. Even though she was able to last against him, she was beginning to tire. She was finally beaten when her opponent swept her legs out from under her, causing her to fall, and hit the tiles. He then knelt over her, pressing his knee to her stomach, holding a knife to her throat and using the other hand to pin both of her wrists.

After a few seconds had passed, he withdrew his knife and released her wrists, letting Azula get back on her feet. Turning his attention away from her, he looked to Ozai as the Fire Lord landed in the stadium. "Well done, soldier, you have beaten my daughter, a Firebending prodigy while you are not a Bender yourself." He seemingly praised the soldier. Turning to Azula, he continued. "Azula, because of his victory against you, this soldier is now your personal bodyguard; he will protect you with his life. Show your face to your Princess." Ozai commanded the soldier.

He reached for his helmet and took it off, causing Azula's eyes to go wide. "You're…"

(Location: Northern Water Tribe)

"RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!" was the general phrase that the Fire Nation soldiers were screaming as they ran back to their ships to escape the giant fish-like monster that the Avatar had created out of water. As they retreated, the soldiers saw a person who wore a black cloak with the hood up, hiding enough of his face so that they only saw his mouth. But the soldiers knew him anyway. "Sir, what should we do about that?" One soldiers asked him as they filed in behind him, pointing to the giant monster.

The cloaked person looked at the thing. "Return to the ships and tell them to set sail, this invasion is over. I will deal with this." He ordered the soldiers. As they ran back to the ships, he saw that the monster was reaching down to him in order to attack. He settled into a stance, moved his hands and drew out his jian, as the hand was about to crush him, he swung his sword once and the entire arm of the monster simply fell off. Sheathing his sword, he looked at the monster that was reeling back. But before he could say anything, he felt a familiar presence and stayed silent.

"LA!" An ethereal voice rang out by his side, making the monster look at him. "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" The people of the Water Tribe looked on in fear as the voice that seemed to originate from nowhere continued. "HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN WHAT TUI WAS SUPPOSED TO GUARD? YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO MAKE SURE SHE DID NOT DIE, YOU ARE HER GUARDIAN; NOW SHE IS DEAD AND YOU ARE OUT HERE TRYING TO TAKE REVANGE, WHAT YOU SHOULD BE BACK THERE TRYING TO FIND A WAY TO FIX THE BALANCE! YOU WILL GET YOUR WATERLY ASS BACK TO THAT OASIS, RIGHT NOW! I WILL CLEAN UP THIS MESS, NOW GO!" The voice roared at the giant monster. Once what he had said had gotten through, the cloaked person moved on quickly to his next target.

As Zuko and Zhao fought against each other, they saw that the giant monster suddenly melt down and retreat back to the oasis. "What is going on?" Zuko asked in wonder, allowing Zhao to punch him in the chest making Zuko fall on the ground.

"My troops were successful in destroying that thing. Soon they will destroy the Water Tribe for good, and my name will be remembered forever!" Zhao declared in a triumphant voice as he stood over his opponent. But while his voice sounded triumphant, it earned him a laugh. Both of them looked in the direction of the laugh and saw the cloaked person leaning against a doorway behind him.

"How very wrong of you, Zhao," The cloaked person said. "As of right now, the ships from the Fire Nation are now leaving and heading back to safe waters. Your name will be forgotten, Zhao. And now, your life is forfeit." Zhao's face went dead white as he paled in fear and ran away, rushing past his former opponent. "I love it when they run." The cloaked person said with a smile as he went after to the soon-to-be dead man, leaving behind a bewildered Zuko.

(Location: Spirit Oasis)

Sokka watched as the two fish circle each other. The Ocean spirit had come back to the Oasis and melted back into the pond, leaving Aang on the grass. Zuko arrived shortly after, only to find the Avatar unconscious with Katara and Sokka there as well as his uncle. Aang woke up shortly afterwards. Zuko and Iroh decided to take their leave at that point, but were interrupted when Zhao ran back into the Oasis with a terrified expression. "Someone, please hide me!" He half-screamed surprising everyone. It literally looked like he was scared for his life.

At that moment all they saw was a blur and suddenly the cloaked person was behind Zhao with his jian out. "Admiral Zhao, for your incompetence and blatant stupidity, you will die." He said in an official voice and before anyone could stop him, he plunged his jian through Zhao's head. As he tried to pull it, it got stuck. He tried to wiggle it loose, but instead, it snapped in half. "Damn it, not another one." He muttered as he looked at the ruined half in his hand. As Zhao's body fell to the ground, he dropped it as well.

"Why did you do that? He was defenseless and scared. You didn't need to kill him!" Aang cried angrily, with a furious expression on his face. He might've disliked Zhao, but he never would've killed him, especially when he was like that.

The person said nothing in response. He only walked forward like he was going to take Aang. But before he could even get halfway, he was blocked by Sokka, who had his boomerang out and ready to use. "Move, boy," The person told him. Sokka just shook his head. "Move," The person told him again, putting an edge in his voice.

"Look pal, I've been having a bad day. The Northern Water Tribe was invaded, the moon spirit was killed, and the girl that I liked gave up her life in order to become the new moon spirit. So pardon me if I'm not just going to roll over and let you take one of my friends, okay?" Sokka asked the person in a half-sarcastic, half-deadly serious tone of voice.

The cloaked person did nothing for a few minutes, and then started to laugh. "I can respect that." He finally said. He then looked slightly up to the air. "What do you think?" He asked no one in particular. Even though there was no reply, he bowed his head slightly and turned to leave. He was about to take the first step when he heard Iroh asking him to stop. "What do you want, old man?" He asked turning back around to face Iroh.

Iroh, completely unfazed by the cloaked person's rudeness, grinned and said. "It's nice to see you again, Naruto." Despite having the cloak been drawn up to cover his face identity, Iroh could tell who it was when he first saw him.

The cloaked person just looked at him for a minute and then sighed. "Iroh," He greeted while lowering his hood. Naruto had grown in the past three years. He had trained extensively, which showed on his face. He had lost the rest of his baby fat, giving him a more a mature look. He had also grown his hair out a bit, giving him a wild look, and had put a good deal of muscle on his body. All-in-all Naruto had turned into someone that made girls drool as he walked by (Naruto still had enough of his innocence to wonder why they kept looking at him like he was a piece of meat). Add in his politeness and his manners, and he had Fangirls wherever he went (Something he did not appreciate).

Iroh's face grew serious. "Naruto, why are you here?" He asked. He knew who the blonde served and he also knew that he wouldn't have come to the North Pole by himself, not unless he had a good reason.

"Why do you think I'm here?" Naruto asked him back. He would've thought it was an obvious thing.

His eyes widened in surprise. "She sent you here?" He never would've thought that she would do such a thing. But then again, he had not seen her in some time.

The blonde nodded. "She understands the need for balance." He may've had a hand in that, but the end result was still the same thing.

Iroh laughed. "Two years ago, she would not have cared if the moon spirit was killed, only if the Northern Water Tribe had been conquered." Truly, it was remarkable how different she apparently was.

He grinned. "You could say that I've been an influence on her"

Zuko finally caught on. "Wait, you don't mean…" He started to say, but stopped when Naruto only nodded once. He just looked at the blonde in disbelief.

"Hey kid, what's your name?" Naruto asked Sokka, turning his attention back to the Tribesman.

"My name isn't kid." Sokka told him indignantly. "It's Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe."

"Well then Sokka, it will be interesting to have you on board." Naruto told him. "Just try to keep him on a short leash from now on, huh?" He asked, indicating Aang with his eyes. What he said was confusing to the Tribesman. But before he could ask what he meant, the blonde had turned to leave the Oasis again. He started walking, leaving the dead body of Zhao behind, and was halfway to the exit when the Avatar landed in front of him and stopped him.

"You didn't answer my question, why did you kill him?!" Aang demanded, pointing to Zhao's body. "Do you not care about human life?"

Naruto looked at the Avatar, who was shaking with righteous anger. "This is coming from you?" He asked with ice-cold eyes. "You, a coward, a traitor, and a mass murderer, would actually say something like that?"

Aang stiffened. "What do you mean? I am not a coward, a traitor or a mass murderer!"

He looked at Aang like he was an idiot. "Really, you don't consider yourself those things?" When Aang nodded, he chuckled. "You are those things, boy. I call you a coward and traitor because when you were told you were the Avatar, instead of stepping up, you ran away and hid for a hundred years, while this war went on. You betrayed your own people with those actions." He said in a matter-of-fact tone of voice.

Aang faltered a little. Those words did hit a little close for him. What the blonde said was true, he did run away. But he wasn't going stop by that. "I do admit that I ran away. But I'm not a mass murderer." He replied defiantly.

Naruto smirked like he had caught the Avatar in a trap. "So you are the last Airbender just by coincidence?" Aang took a step back, like he had been slapped, and the blonde took a step forward. "Because of your actions, your entire civilization and people were wiped out by the Fire Nation. While the Fire Nation did the deed, you allowed them to do it, therefore you are the murderer and the Fire Nation was just your way of killing your own people. Well done." He mocked, clapping his hands. Aang fell down to the ground as the memories of what he did repeated over and over again in his mind. If what the blonde had said before had struck close, this had struck. All of a sudden, he could see how that would've caused the Fire Nation to destroy his people.

Katara and Sokka ran over to him to see if he was okay. That gave Zuko, Iroh, and Naruto the chance to leave the Oasis as well as the Northern Water Tribe (albeit in different ways).

(Location: Fire Nation Capital, Royal Palace)

Azula walked into her room. Her father had given her a task to do. She started to pack, making sure that she took everything she needed. "So what did the Royal Flaming Asshole want you to do?" A voice asked her from the shadows in her room. It would have surprised and/or sacred anyone else, but Azula had lived with it for two years now, so she had gotten use to it.

"That's Fire Lord Ozai to you, Naruto." She told her bodyguard who stepped out of the shadows. Ozai and Naruto did not see eye-to-eye often and didn't agree on a lot of things. Because of Naruto's unique position, he was allowed a seat on the war council, despite being a common soldier, which also irritated Ozai to no end. What further irritated the Fire Lord was that during the war council, Naruto would often oppose him when a plan for the warfront was passed. He would give his solution to the plan, or come up with his own plan. His plan would save lives while also gaining territory in the Earth Kingdom. Because of what he did to try and save lives, the soldiers all loved and respected him, while the officers took after Ozai and treated him with distain. He just told them that he didn't want to lose anyone else (having lost a lot of people while fighting in the war).

"You say fire, I say flambé." Naruto replied with a grin, making Azula give an annoyed huff.

"Why do you still do that?" She asked him, referring to him talking from the shadows. Naruto did that to Azula for the first couple of months the two of them were together, Naruto would speak to Azula when it looked like he wasn't in the room to A: sharpen her senses as well as make her develop a danger sense (he would throw things at her if she didn't find him fast enough) and B: to freak her out and make her lighten up.

"Old habit," Naruto answered with a shrug of his shoulders.

She looked at the jian he had on him. "Is that a new one?" She asked him with a raised eyebrow and a smirk.

He became annoyed, allowing it to show on his face. "Yeah, it is. Grabbed it at some point during the week I spent coming back here." While he could passably handle any kind of weapon, he preferred to use the jian. The thing was, every time he had a jian, sooner or later, it would somehow break (he was also pretty sure that there was a pool going on about how long a particular jian would last and how it would be destroyed). But he didn't let his annoyance linger, becoming serious as he refocused on her. "What did he want you to do?"

"The Fire Lord wants me to hunt down and capture my uncle and ZuZu." Azula told him.

He nodded once. "I'll go grab the rest of my gear." He started for the door, but Azula stopped him.

"Naruto, why did you agree to go the North Pole, I told you only what I thought Zhao would do and I could've been wrong but you still went, why?" She asked him. She knew that what Zhao had almost succeeded in doing would've been disastrous. But for some reason, that was not the only reason her bodyguard was willing to go up to the North Pole.

Naruto looked at her. "I went to stop Zhao from doing something stupid but I had a different reason for doing that then you." He said cryptically and turned to leave again. He was at the door when he heard her say his name. He turned around and saw uncertainty in her eyes.

"You won't leave me alone, will you?" She asked with a slight fear in her voice. She hated how weak she sounded at that moment. She knew that something was happening to her but she didn't know what it was. She still had her devious and cruel edge, but there were times where she thought that everyone would leave her and she would be alone and not wanted or loved. That thought scared Azula to no end. That's why she asked Naruto that question. He had been with her for two years and has been a friend as well as a bit of a teacher to her. So she was terrified if he would actually leave her.

He walked back over to Azula and looked at her. Before she could object, he pulled her into a hug and held her there. "I told you this before Azula." He said to her, his voice soothing her. "I will always be there with you, even when you don't need or want me. I swore to protect you, no matter what it may cost me. I'm your servant, your protector and your friend. Remember that, Azula, and you will never be alone."

Azula gave a small smile. When she stepped away from the hug, she was back to normal. "Weren't you going to go grab your gear?" She asked pointedly.

Naruto laughed. "Alright, I'll go now." He turned to leave and started walking out of the room.

"One more thing Naruto, did you see my uncle and ZuZu in the Northern Water Tribe?" She asked him, making him stop again.

"Yeah I did, although I suspect that they have already left, I also met someone interesting." He replied, turning to look at her once more.

Azula looked at him. "Who was it?"

"It was someone who managed to land the same position I have without even recognizing it." Even though he used the word "position" he wasn't talking about guarding Azula (he considered that a job).

"I'm guessing you aren't talking about the Avatar?" Azula asked him, only to receive a sour look from him.

"It wasn't the brat; it was a kid from the Southern Water Tribe who was traveling with the brat." He replied, avoiding the word Avatar when talking about Aang.

"And what is so special about this boy?" Azula asked Naruto, who gave her a mysterious smile.

"He isn't a Bender." He answered before finally leaving the room leaving Azula to think about her task and what he had said.

End

Author's Note: So here is my Naruto/Last Airbender crossover, which I hope will go far.

I will state this right now: this is not the last time we see Konoha. Right now, I'm thinking that Naruto will run into each of the teams separately (he runs into one of the teams, they report back to Konoha and then Tsunade will keep sending out people he knows to try and capture him) and at the Western Air Temple, have everyone be kidnapped by Konoha shinobi and brought back to the village, or something along those lines.

Yes I know that I killed Zhao off differently, but I wanted Naruto to shock everyone there by killing him without difficulty or hesitation. I wanted to show the difference between Naruto when he had just graduated from the Academy and the way he is now, as well as show how different he is from Aang.

Also, yes this is a good Azula story but it's not going to be right away, I'm aiming for her to have conflicted issues about it all, but will still be able to make her choice.

For those of you who have not caught on to the reason Naruto had for going to the North Pole, let me break it down for you. You start off by using the Sage of Sixth Paths formula:

Juubi separated by Creation of all things = Chakra of Juubi and body of Juubi

You then do:

Chakra of Juubi divided by nine = Nine Bijūs

Body of Juubi sealed into giant stone prison = moon

Which you then plugged into:

Moon minus Moon spirit = power of moon being destroyed

And that leads to the conclusion

Power of moon being destroyed = very good chance of Juubi's body getting out

And that is the reason why Naruto went to the North Pole, for the people who STILL don't understand: he went to make sure that the body of the Juubi did not break free.

Also the reason that Naruto called Sokka out instead of Aang will be partially explained next chapter.

I will try to stay as close to the Last Airbender storyline as I can but there will be some changes to it with Naruto in it (but then again, that's why we do crossovers).

I will do my best to keep writing, so I see you all next chapter!